


As Narrated by the Axolotl

by ThiccLog



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Bill is from the Canon Universe, Depressed Dipper, Dipper gets grilled, Dipper has hallucinations, Dipper is an anxious bean, Dipper learns magic wheeee, F in chat, Fluff, M/M, Manipulation, More tags to be added, Multiple times, Parallel Universes, Possession, Slow Burn, Tentacles, bill has a palace and its lit ngl, but its not kinky, eldritch Bill, he gets more human as we go, if i dont forget, oh also its gay, someone protect him, the burn is so slow Im not even sure its burning in the first place, the major character death tag is not what it seems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:02:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 57,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22034515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThiccLog/pseuds/ThiccLog
Summary: Years after Weirdmaggeddon, a depressed Dipper Pines returned to Gravity Falls. Only in this universe, the apocalypse took place in his scattered mind and not the physical world. The enigmatic Bill Cipher wasn't real, just his imagination. A hallucination.Or so he thought until the demon paid him a visit, offering a deal to free himself from his restraints.In no way did Dipper think he was broken enough to take it. He couldn't foresee the rollercoaster that followed. And least of all had he expected to fall for the demon.Similarly, Bill didn't predict to catch feelings. He wasn't prepared for the guilt and definitely not for redemption. He hadn't expected to shatter.But what can you do with the Axolotl watching?
Relationships: Bill Cipher & Dipper Pines, Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines
Comments: 187
Kudos: 321





	1. Arcane Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is watching.

_Szztl hievevu tuex asmv kn glvcis._

_Nctpliq jrfo wvxlgr bztcu xvcis._

_Jcw umw man ukmrrwgsn swra._

_Qmqwej jozi elh crp't eixsvn._

_Jcyf li'q lagry. Ui'w y pirt._

_Byeqc xhv crfsr dsr kje smvc._

_Mf yg wnrxq xo jjieo xfi bccmr,_

_Li'jp hrxe gs mlzobg ml reki._

_Oeg wnc xm ebjqlii lgw cikmr._

_E hgjfvteax jmvm, r fisjipink vizi._

For Mason "Dipper" Pines it all started on the bus to his great uncle's house where he scrolled through his phone. His twin sister Mabel sat next to him, she smiled as he looked at her. She wore her favorite sweater, the pink one with the shooting star, it suited her well.  
He smiled back when she took his hand, her skin smooth and light almost like air, and gave it a subtle squeeze. For a second it looked like her smile faltered but that could've been Dipper's imagination. She was happy to return to Gravity Falls.

Dipper shot a look through the dirty glass at the hoard of trees that passed by. The fog hindered his sight beyond a few yards but he didn't mind, it was mysterious and comforting in a way.

His eyes caught onto something strange, a bunny seemingly made of shadows hopped deeper into the fog, it left behind a wispy smoke. The buzz of the engine and its vibrations soothed him but not as much as to lure him into dreamland just yet. Dipper knew exactly what he saw and while surprised, he should've expected it.

So they were back, huh? He glanced back at his phone, haphazardly replying to messages from his parents, they wanted to know if he would be there soon, as if nothing happened. The time read 7:37AM before the screen tore apart, split by gaping wounds out of which eyes blinked at him as if he was the odd one. They would arrive a bit early.

He sighed at the eyes, he didn't miss them. A reminder of how he got to this point in the first place. He had moved to Los Angeles because Mabel had gotten into an art college there so he applied to a few courses that interested him at multiple colleges and was accepted. Mabel and him shared an apartment at first but that didn't go so well since his sister needed a workspace and her stuff ended up being everywhere in the tiny apartment. They decided they both needed their own space so Mabel moved closer to her college.

One thing led to another and a few unfortunate events depressed Dipper. The stress and anxieties of city life didn't help either. His stomach coiled and twisted from thinking about it so his gaze snapped back to the trees. Pine trees. Now growing limbs.

The tires squealed in strain and the bus came to a halt, yanking Dipper forward with it's momentum. The bus drivers here certainly didn't become more gentle and the bus was probably older than Dipper but he didn't want to seem rude so he thanked him anyways, Mabel following closely behind. 

When he only got a hiss from the bus driver, whose face shifted from average middle-aged man to gaping-mouthed eldritch horror he leaped out. Fresh, chilly morning air greeted him and he shivered a bit, excited.

"Dipper, let me help you with your belongings!" A familiar voice shouted, attached to the body of a grey haired man wearing a beige lab coat.

"Oh Ford, I didn't expect you to be here yet, we're a bit early." He smiled and put down his backpack to give Ford a brief hug. "It's nice to see you again."

"It certainly is a pleasure to have someone making the house a bit more lively."

They loaded Dipper's suitcases and some cartons into Ford's car. Ford looked at him like he wanted to say something a couple of times, apologetic, but when Dipper's eyes found him he always turned his away. It was probably for the better.

The ride to the shack was silent besides the car bumping over the old road. Usually Stan would spice things up whenever Dipper and Mabel came to visit but it's been a couple of years since he passed thus their car rides became more quiet. Thankfully his death had been a peaceful one. But this time wasn't like the others, something else missed. Something of importance. Mabel sat in the back, looked out of the window and drew silly faces on it.

After they arrived, Dipper carried the cartons and suitcases up the creaky wooden stairs into his old room. Mabel moved into the other room in the attic when they were 15 so they were never far from each other. Once everything sat in the room, he unpacked and sorted all of his books into the shelf which made the room smell pleasant. Nothing went over the smell of books. 

In of the cartons Dipper found his old hat, white and blue with a pine tree on it. Mabel bought it for him because she said it reminded her of him and he smiled to himself at the fond memory. He placed it on the deer skull that sat on his bookshelf, covered in a layer of dust. When it started to stare at him he lowered the hat over the deer's eye socket. Yikes.

Dipper had been wanting to finally write or draw again, after what felt like ages of being blocked. But what to draw? He fluffed up the blanket Ford already put onto his bed and arranged the army of pillows he brought from LA, Dipper settled on the bed as he pulled out one of his what seemed like an infinite supply of notebooks. Over the years he'd collected quite a few and Mabel had gotten him some too, but he never really used them enough to conquer his stack of brand new notebooks.

Click-clack. Click-clack. The pen in Dipper's hand was abused by his thumb, which put on and relieved pressure in a pattern. Dark forms sprawled out on the page, literally. He still held his pen far away from the page, torturing it. He just couldn't concentrate. His mind was blank. Just think. Think!

Still nothing, he sighed. The dark blobs on the page moved now, danced around and grew eyes. They smashed and merged, separated again, formed more blobs which joined in. Great, even his subconscious mind or whatever part of his brain was at fault for this was more creative then when he actually tried to work on projects. 

He forced the pen on the paper, drawing rough strokes around the blobs and trapping them in an ink prison. Then he smacked the book shut and let it fall on the bed as he got up. Ugh! It was no use, he couldn't do it today. And probably not tomorrow. Or the day after that. Or the day after that.

An exhausted groan left his lips and he slandered down stairs until his feet hit the cold stone tiles of the renovated kitchen. 

Stan could never spare any money for something that "still works just fine, you're all just nit picky" like their old fridge that practically fell apart and couldn't even keep the temperature where it should be. Once he wasn't there to praise their rusty sink Ford had decided to renovate parts of the shack. The walls between the kitchen, hallway and living room had been torn down, the wooden floors were replaced by perfectly smooth stone tiles and the technology was upgraded.

As if she sensed Dipper's distress, Mabel waited behind the counter with a cup of hot chocolate. "You look like you need this,'' she said with a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks." Dipper took the cup, lighter than he had expected it to be, and took a sip. "I'm just kinda frustrated… I've been in an art and writer's block for probably a few months. It's just… ugh."

"I get it. It's fine, you've been through a lot recently. Don't beat yourself up about it." She grabbed the empty cup, revealing some of the tattoos on her arm. Mabel had been doing some tattooing with a machine Stan found buried in a pile of old junk. Their parents scolded her for it when they found out but she only did it on fruits or herself at first, slowly covering her left arm in lively ink designs. When she had asked for volunteers Grunkle Stan was the first one to jump. 

"I mean you're right but…" He shot a desperate look to Mabel, he didn't need to say more. Soon, her arms embraced him but their hug didn't last very long as the clicking of keys turning a lock could be heard, followed by the rustle of plastic bags. 

"Would you help me take care of the groceries?" Ford glanced around the corner.

"Alright."

And so they sorted everything into their shiny metal fridge and the polished cupboards. Dipper worked quite slow, his brain didn't agree to comply today. He dropped a thing or three because of tentacles which grew out of the cupboards, waking himself up whenever something landed on the floor with a clatter. Dipper frowned in annoyance. It would be nice if the groceries could sort themselves in.

"Dipper you should head to bed, you look like you haven't slept in a day." 

He in fact hadn't slept in a day. He had tried to sleep on the bus but he either got woken up by annoying little kids scream, the air conditioning making weird noises or the uneven road the creaky old vehicle had stumbled over. He would love to disappear beneath the sheets, a yawn of approval escaped him. "Sure."

So he wandered upstairs and let himself flop into bed, without even changing his clothes. He couldn't care less. 

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

When he opened his eyes, darkness spotted with tiny lights, stars, surrounded him. He sat up. Trees, foliage, a forest lulled into the thickness of night, encircled him. A gentle breeze blew past him, bringing with it the smell of nature. This seemed unreasonably nice for his dreams. 

Dipper stood up, glancing around. Something was off for sure. It was too serene. Too quiet. 

He couldn't hear anything as the moon rose over the treetops. He couldn't hear anything when a deep gash appeared on the moon. And he couldn't hear anything over the maniacal laughter that raptured from.

"Oh it is good to be back! Wasn't quite sure when you'd finally have the pleasure of my presence, Pine Tree! Look at you, all grown up and depressed! Ha!" The eye floated closer to Dipper, grinning down at him.

Dipper jumped, his legs weren't sure if they wanted to stay beneath him. He had seen it so many times before but never heard its voice. Staring at him from dark corners. Appearing on walls. On paper. On his own skin. In the mirror. It watched, but unmoving and silent. 

Paralyzed, he looked at the eye like a deer caught in the headlights. Why was it here? What did it want? The only thing he could manage doing was to bring his hand up to a spot on his neck. Pine Tree.

"Oh I see how it is! Of course you can't handle a talking eye with your restricted human brain, can you little sapling?" This… _thing_ shifted. Arms extended out of the ink black sky, they bent in ways a human's would never, duplicating. Hands with more digits than Ford had, forming with a sharp points at the ends, talons that could cut into his flesh and leave only his bones behind. 

A cold shiver went up his spine. What the hell-

The core of its body oozed downlike tar before taking a more human form, albeit crooked, elongated and in the color of night black. Thick shadows crept out below it's waist, slimy tentacles slithered out from the unknown. It's face similarly hidden in shadows, only the single sharp eye to be seen from it. "This must surely be better for you, kiddo."

Dipper trembled, staring at the eldritch being with wide, fearful eyes. He felt sick. Whatever this was, it could tear him apart at any given moment. He may have had a death wish, but this wasn't the way to go. His own voice choked him. "P-Pine Tree? What- Who are you!?" 

"How rude of me not to introduce myself, my sincerest apologies. The name's Bill Cipher, I'm a- muse if you will." He purred, his voice displayed excitement as he approached like a predator would on its prey.

Dipper took a few steps back, almost tripping in the process and his breath hitched. Adrenaline pierced through him like venom in his veins. Careful. Be careful. "Wha-what do you mean 'muse'? What do you have to do with me?"

"Oh you know, I inspire people. Like ol' Fordsy for example, what fun we had! But of course you don't know that, not even Sixer himself does, this one at least. His loss!"

The abomination of a muse stalked towards Dipper. His deadly claws came closer. And closer. Dipper had no clue what this Bill was going on about. Ford was a bit obsessed with the supernatural but as far as he knew he didn't have any contact with it yet. Answer. _Just answer_ . Make sure not to die. " _This_ Fords? How do you even know Ford?" 

It, he, stared at him. Unblinking. One eye pinning him down, ready to pounce. Approaching. Dipper's back hit a tree. Dammit. He was done. Dead. A stuffed deer. No, a sliced up corpse. Unrecognizable.

Dipper shouldn't have asked. He swallowed hard. Expecting sharp pointy fingers to dig into his flesh as he stared back. But he only felt a cold, smooth tentacle creep up his arm. Creating goosebumps on his very soul. He shivered, he felt sick to his core, guts twisting.

"He's an old friend… of sorts. You know Pine Tree, I'm surprised you haven't lost your curiosity after all that I made you go through." His voice took on a lower tone. "Dealing with those hallucinations since you were little. Probably wasn't too much fun, _for you_ anyways." 

Those were _his_ doing!?

" _Wha-"_

Dipper woke up, drenched in cold sweat and panting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY THIS BINCH IS READY TO BE POSTED AAAAAAHHH-
> 
> No seriously, I wrote this for NaNoWriMo so it’s been like two months since I started with the first Chap, even longer if you consider the planning. Oh the sweet planning-
> 
> That being said, this is the first proper thing I’ve written, in English which is not my first language on top of that! I mainly do art and trust me when I say I’m better at drawing than writing. 
> 
> I'm looking forward to what everyone thinks so I’ll be keeping a close eye at the comments. Constructive (!!!) criticism is very much appreciated since I practically have no idea what the hecc I’m doing. Definitely do tell if I’m repeatedly making mistakes regarding the language, grammar or anything of the kind. 
> 
> If you’re curious to see my art, yes I draw a ton of Bills currently, you can find me on Instagram and on Twitter where I will put up the cover art I made specifically for this fanfic.
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/terroiart/
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/terroiart/
> 
> Updates are probably going to be on Mondays but I might post twice a week later on. If you’re active on social media I will let you know there for sure.
> 
> Thank you for giving this train wreck a shot, I would appreciate to hear your thoughts in the comments!
> 
> [EDIT: Fixed formatting]


	2. Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The nightmare is an illusion.

Dipper bolted up, his clothes from yesterday soaked. And then his dream came back to him. Bill. It was as if his sharp eye bore into him at this very moment, he shuddered at the memory. What to think of him? He was scary and menacing but he hadn't exactly done anything to him even though it looked like he had wanted to tear him apart. But just because he had abstained from ripping his limbs off didn't mean he would in the future. 

Maybe it had only been a dream, nothing more, and Bill wasn't real. He couldn't be real, right? Dipper had so many nightmares before, this probably wasn't even the weirdest. Sure, none of them had felt quite as real, but still. Dreams were odd. Dipper shoved the blanket along with dream to the side and got up. It would be fine.

He went through his usual morning routine of showering and eating a random array of snacks for breakfast. Mabel joined him, she proved to be very helpful for confirming that the spiders he saw on the walls weren't real.

Honestly, the subtle hallucinations were the most annoying because it was hard to make out that they were in fact a hallucination. The worst ones turned out to be when objects or people were slightly shifted to any direction. He constantly bumped into or tripped over things and his aim was terrible when playing sports at school because he thought the other players were standing a foot or two to the left. 

More memories about school plopped up and a frown crossed Dipper's face. He shook his head, pushing the thoughts away before they could cloud his mind, dwelling on it wouldn't change anything. He was ready for some fresh air. 

Dipper grabbed his laptop as well as a sketchbook and settled onto the old couch that sat on the porch. It was fairly cold so he snatched a thicker jacket and a blanket because the jacket alone wasn't warm enough. 

The laptop screen stared at him, a clean document open, fresh and agonizingly white. How did one come up with ideas again? Oh right, imagination. The thing that seemed to be broken in Dipper's mind. It made him think his laptop melted but somehow didn't comply with making up anything he could use. His brows furrowed as annoyance gnawed on him.

His frown soon lifted when an idea weaseled its way into Dipper's head. Maybe the computer melting wasn't too bad after all. A world in which everything could shift in any given moment, one second you're standing in a house, the next second it's a volcano floating in the sky. A weird world. Wait no-

_Weird._

_Weirdmageddon._

It all came back in flashes. _The bright cross torn into the blood red sky. The black pyramid towering over all of Gravity Falls. Screams everywhere. The triangle. The triangle with the_ _eye._

_Bill. Bill was his name. The one who had made his life so, so much worse._

He snapped back into reality, his document displaying he had pressed down several keys very hard. Dipper flexed his fingers, stiff from the cold, and shook off the terrors his mind forced into his conscious. A fragile breath escaped him. He was fine. He was okay. Weirdmaggeddon was only in his mind. Bill wasn't real. He was a hallucination. A dream. The one from his dream looked completely different anyways. It was just a stupid dream. _But it lined up too well. Their voices matched! Their eye was identical!_

What if he was real? His stomach dropped.

_It was summer when it happened. Or rather when he thought it had. He tried to reason with Stan and Mabel. The sky was red godDAMMIT HOW COULD THEY NOT HAVE SEEN? A DEMON TOOK OVER THEIR WORLD HOW COULD THEY PRETEND EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL?_

But they had been right. It wasn't them who were wrong. Dipper was. And he scared away anyone who could've become a friend. They all thought he was crazy. That's how it went. He wasn't interesting anyways. It was fine. He probably didn't even deserve friends. All he had was Mabel. Everyone else thought he was insane. _Mabel_.

Dipper focused on reality, in a staring contest with his screen and blurry vision. He couldn't win against his letter stained document. He couldn't win against his brain, his damn broken brain. Air circulated through his lungs rapidly. Calm down. 

A defeated sigh left him, shaky and choked up.

Dipper closed the laptop and took a deep breath. And then another one. Sucking the air into his nostrils and blowing it out through his lips. He shouldn't wander in his past so much, he couldn't change it. He wiped the excess water that had formed in his eyes and blinked until his surroundings morphed from blurry blotches of color to trees. A walk would do him good.

He put the laptop and his notebook inside. What if some guy drove all the way to the old shack in hopes of stealing valuables, right? He snorted at his own paranoia and walked out.

The forest stunned Dipper at any time of the year and he loved it beyond words. All of the burdens slipped off his shoulders, the weight lifted and for a second he forgot about his worries. 

Needles stirred as the wind whirled through the pine trees. While the woods were peaceful, they possessed a subtle flair of mystery, like you could never truly know what lurked behind the next tree. 

Past him hopped, no floated, a smoke bunny. Dipper flinched but it was just another harmless hallucination. He hated how skittish he was, it was seriously annoying. A deer wandered from the same direction, made of wispy white fog, moving its legs in an elegant fashion. Birds flew overhead. Not real birds, real birds didn't shift or flicker in and out of existence.

They all came from one direction. But why? It wasn't like an actual predator capable of harming them inhabited the forest. Sure, Dipper could be attacked by a bear but those animals? They couldn't even be attacked by Dipper himself, the only person who could see them.

Curiosity tugged at him like a dog on a leash. Where did they come from and why? If he found a source, maybe he could make them disappear so he could finally concentrate again. That alone was enough to convince him to find wherever it was they originated from.

He marched deeper into the woods, guided by squirrels and mice, snakes and raccoons, all of which possessed too many eyes or consisted of a substance no living being was made of. He couldn't help but to study them, spooked but also mildly interested. Honestly, those kinds of hallucinations were the ones he didn't mind, they made him feel like there was more to the world than humanity knew about. 

Dipper walked for a while, maybe 20 minutes? He wasn't too sure, time had always been tricky to him. Sometimes it flooded past him like a river in spring, sometimes it barely seemed to be moving at all. 

A headache formed, thumping against his forehead. "Great, just what I needed." Why did he not bring a backpack with at least some water in it? He damned himself for not being thoughtful enough but his curiosity wasn't fed yet, he couldn't turn around without finding out what caused this migration of hallucinations. Especially now that he could clearly tell an increase in hallucinations which got weirder and weirder each step. 

After another 10 minutes the animals became less animal and more abstract. Too many limbs, a hoard of six-legged deer jumped from branch to branch, weird shadows shifted in the corner of his vision. And then the sounds. Everything grew louder and a weird static filled his ears. This didn't seem safe. Dipper tensed, glancing around. Each step guarded. Fear pooled in his gut.

Whispers sounded right next to his ear. His head snapped around in panic but he saw nobody. What the-? "Hello?" A chuckle in his other ear. Again, nobody. Was this supposed to be some sick joke? His head throbbed more and he felt eyes bore into his skin like skewers.

This had been a bad idea. He shouldn't have come here. Especially not alone.

He froze, afraid he would be torn apart by whatever lurked in the shadows if he moved. Dipper couldn't go any further. No matter the strength of his desire to find out more. Curiosity killed the cat. _Curiosity killed it._

His legs trembled. They were not real, dammit. Only hallucinations. They couldn't harm him. They couldn't. _Theycouldn'ttheycouldn't_. His breathing picked up pace, his heart followed suit. Dread creeped up him like the dark fog which closed in, slowly eating up his surroundings. 

All it took was an icy tentacle trapping his leg in its grasp. 

He bolted, panicking. Thrashing through the trees towering over him. Tripping on twisted roots. Twigs slapped his face and arms. Get away. _Get away_ , _get away!_

He ran for a while when the menacing atmosphere faded. His adrenaline levels sunk, legs aching so he slowed down. A glance to the back revealed nothing followed him. Of course.

Dipper's boots hit the ground haphazardly, his breath irregular and too fast. His hand found a tree and he leaned against it, heaving on the freezing air, until his heartbeat found a more normal rhythm. What the hell had that been? What happened? It had been a while since his hallucinations had acted up like that. Why?

As his eyes wandered about, he realized that he knew this spot, the shack wasn't too far. He should head back, he definitely did not want more of whatever that had been and the cold did not mix well with his now sweaty clothes. The rest of the way was uneventful. Thankfully.

Dipper sighed in relief as he entered the familiar house. That had been too much for him. Way too much.

His stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten a lot that day so he opened the fridge, filled with food. Too lazy to cook. Instant noodles, which were probably packed with all kinds of cancer inducing ingredients, seemed good enough. Not that he'd care anyways. 

He spent the rest of the day with Mabel, he told her about his walk in the forest but she couldn't do much for him except to reassure him he would be fine.

After dinner, he went upstairs to unpack some more of his belongings and headed to bed. What a weird day. Luckily it was over now. His legs ached from earlier and his exhaustion put him to sleep.

Much to Dipper's disliking, he got to sprint some more in his dreams. His legs screamed for relief, and it felt like metal was glued to his feet, all while his heart was about to burst. 

A horse-like tar creature chased him, it's mouth open to reveal razor-sharp teeth, dripping with black saliva. The back of its throat hosted its eye. It locked onto Dipper as it galloped, eager to have a fresh snack.

The ground shook, adrenaline pulsed through Dipper's veins as his foot caught on to a rock. "AH!-" His face hit the ground, skin scarred by rocks. He couldn't breathe. He needed to get up. Up!

The tar horse caught up to him. Dipper's eyes were blown wide from fear as he stared into its gaping mouth. It was about to rip into him when a voice echoed through the darkness. He could make out a single eye.

"Looks like you some assistance! Shoo!" 

The sheer presence of Bill made the tar horse gurgle and retreat, a perfect display of who was in charge. A black hand attached to the odd being's body materialized in front of him. His eye fixed onto the boy. 

Dipper looked at the appendage in terror before he got grabbed and yanked up. The hand felt like a slightly warm sandstone brick, except that a sandstone brick wouldn't be able to murder Dipper in the gruesome ways he could. Bill had tugged with a little too much energy, making Dipper bump into his 'chest' and gasp. While relieved he didn't get his leg eaten, he had a feeling this would probably not end any better.

Bill's eye contorted into something like a smile and he chuckled. "Boy, you sure are a lightweight, aren't ya? I mean I can lift up _anything_ in the dreamscape but truth be told, you do look like you can't weight too much in the physical realm." 

"D-dreamscape? Physical realm?" Dipper pushed himself away from Bill's chest and wrenched his hand out of his grasp, stumbling back when it was released. A cackle followed. "What are you talking about!?" 

"Relax kid! We've got all the time in the world together. Well, until your sad excuse of a meat sack rots away anyways." 

"I-I'm an adult!" Dipper's voice cracked and he slapped himself internally. That was meant to sound more confident.

Bill snorted, eye glistening in sadistic delight. "How bold of you to assume I care about your primitive concept of time. You're not even a fraction of my age, Pine Tree." He shortened his distance to Dipper, tentacles writhed around the boy like curious snakes. Deadly snakes. 

This wasn't good. No, this was turning out to be very bad. He wanted to back off but there was nowhere to go, he was trapped. A deer in the lion's den. Dipper peered for an escape route, without success.

"Don't be so shy, if I wanted you hurt you would already be screeching in pain!" 

How comforting. "W...why are you here? Are you even real?"

"Why are you here, huh? I supposed because two humans did the ol' procreation thing." Bill leaned in closer, almost as if inspecting the boy. He pushed his hair back to reveal the birthmark of the Big Dipper. They were so similar, almost identical. Fascinating. "Reality is an illusion kid, you of all people should know that." 

He flinched away and rubbed at his forehead. To avoid the proximity to the prying eye, Dipper took a few more steps back. Should he be scared or was Bill on his side? What did he want? "T-that's not what I-" He tripped over one of the tentacles, his butt planted on the ground.

"You'd best watch your step, kid. Wouldn't want to slip up now, _would we_?" 

The boy could only manage to stare up in terror. Had he crossed the line? He messed up. Hands reached for him. Clawed hands. He could already feel them tear out his eyeballs. He could already feel the raw screams in his throat.

An amused Bill lifted Dipper onto his feet again with one or three arms and tendrils, brushing the dirt off of him. Pine Tree was so easy to mess with. This would be heaps of fun. "It's alright, shortstack. You've always been overly curious and it's a quality I appreciate. To answer your previous questions, the dreamscape is where we are now and the physical realm is where you are when you're awake. Would've thought you'd be able to figure that one out on your own."

Dipper wouldn't consider himself dumb but that did seem obvious. He blamed it on the fact that he was quite literally fearing for his life while conversing with some sort of nightmare creature in his head. He chewed on his lip, uncertain if attempting to run would be worth it. 

"I'm glad to have enriched you with my audience _but_ I have a palace to look after and things to take care of." 

"You have a palace?" Dipper wasn't sure what to make of all of this but it did pique his interest. It made no sense at all but he wanted to know more. There was something weirdly comforting about the demon despite looking like a creature from his darkest nightmares and it intrigued him, reeling him in like a siren's song. He would laugh at his own stupidity if it wasn't for his life on the line.

"Course I do, silly! Every classy de- _muse_ should have one!" He booped Dipper's nose with one of the tendrils. "Maybe I'll let you visit sometime. You love reading, don't you? Well time's up, have great miserable day in your mortal flesh suit, see ya!"

"Wait-" Originating from his nose, a weird prickle spread all over his body, like tiny needles poking at him, until he felt his physical limbs again. 

His eyelids opened but he didn't want to get up. He needed to know more. More about Bill, why he was in his head, the palace. He needed to know everything. But there was one problem: he had just woken up. Or got woken up, he wasn't sure. He would have to wait a whole day to sleep again. Dipper sighed. 

A bit later, he wandered into the kitchen, the cold tiles made him shudder. Slippers would've been a good idea.

"Good morning Dipper, how did you sleep?"

"Morning Ford. Fine." To be honest, it had been mainly exhausting but he didn't want to worry his great uncle. It wasn't like he could just tell him he had a chat with a potentially deadly being. ...Maybe he should anyways? After all Ford did spend a lot of time looking into the supernatural, he could potentially help him. His stomach growled, now was not the time to try and explain the creature that supposedly housed in his head.

Dipper never knew what to eat for breakfast so he grabbed a chocolate bar and an apple. He sat on the opposite side to Ford and took a bite out of the fruit. It was crunchy and sweet, just how he liked it but there was a hint of iron too. "How's teaching going?"

Ford tried making a living out of studying the supernatural and proving it was real but when that failed, he became a professor at the local community college. It seemed to be a good job for him at first but Dipper knew Ford's excitement had been crushed by the hoards disinterested students over the years. He couldn't fault them, their school system was utter garbage.

"Well I've been getting used to my new classes and most of them are fairly average. There's some bullying issues but I'll try to work that out." He put the last piece of his toast into his mouth and sorted his dishes into the dishwasher, honestly a machine sent from the gods in Dipper's opinion.

Dipper licked over his gums, more iron. "Hope you can help with that." He sincerely did hope so, getting bullied was never fun, he knew from experience. "Aren't you supposed to be there in a bit?"

"Oh you're right! I should be back at four!" And Ford got all of his stuff together, heading off faster than lightning.

The parts he'd bitten out of the apple had red stains on them. Ugh. He should take better care of his teeth.

Around noon, Dipper decided to try to sleep again. He'd been laying in bed for a while, wide awake and incredibly annoyed. His eyes followed tiny fae like creatures which jumped around the room in a complicated dance. Maybe some talking to listen to would help, it would definitely make it easier not to focus on the damn creaky noises the old wooden parts of the shack made. 

After a while of listening to a podcast of a woman rambling about salads at fast food restaurants he finally dozed off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back again, another Monday, another ANBTA update! So this chapter was quite the mess before the last few edits I did and it's still not perfect for sure but already a lot better compared to what it used to be. I also updated the tags, nothing too important. Heh.
> 
> You can share your thoughts, critique or just anything in the comments, I'd be happy to read them!
> 
> If you are interest to see my art, you can find it on Twitter and Instagram @TerroiArt 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Black Tentacles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They will not back off.

When Dipper came to be, he was sinking into cold mud. "Ugh." Keen to get up, he placed his hands, then feet into the earthy goop. He patted off his clothes in an attempt to get them looking a bit more presentable but it turned out wiping at dirty clothes with muddied hands didn't do much. Gross.

He took in his surroundings, a forest, except this time a swampy one. Withering logs, foliage and thick fog made it hard to see far, all while a musky scent seeped into his nose. Not his favorite place for sure.

"Are we back already?"

A very manly, high pitched scream left Dipper as he recoiled, heartbeat catapulting. "H-hello to you too." His breath hitched and he wasn't sure if he was mentally prepared to look at the monstrosity behind him. But he did so anyways. Bill's silhouette made Dipper's skin crawl. Not that he would tell him that, he didn't exactly want to be ripped into shreds.

"Oh, I didn't startle you, did I?" Bill knew damn well he did. If he possessed a mouth it would contort into a wide grin. Probably filled to the brim with sharp teeth.

"Sorry I just, uh…" A charcoal tendril placed itself on Dipper's shoulder, he glowered at it in disgust.

"It's fine, kid. You're paranoid, I know, I know." Bill wandered around him, scoffing at his dirt-drenched clothes.

Dipper shoved the tentacle off his shoulder and turned with Bill, he couldn't be up to any good. If he decided to devour him then at least he would see it coming. 

Bill's gaze laid on Dipper as if he was trying to pry straight into his mind. The boy grew more and more uncomfortable, averting his eyes. He should say something. Make conversation. Keep him engaged to prevent whatever his plan was. He spilled the first thing that came to mind, trying his best not to sound terrified but his voice shook noticeably. "Um... about that palace? Can… can I visit… sometime?" 

A realization followed. He had just invited himself into the devil's mansion, hadn't he? Well done, Dipper. He slapped himself mentally while hoping for the best yet expecting the worst. Maybe he could find out more about the mysterious creature this way.

A chuckle left the being's throat. Did he have a throat? It left Bill's general form. "Of course you can visit my palace-"

"Really?" Dipper fidgeted with his hands. Curiosity won him over. What would it look like? How big would it be? There weren't any limitations here, it could really be anything.

Or maybe it was a trap to eat him alive. 

"-yes,  _ but _ there's one thing I need from you. You can go run around in my palace all you want if I'm allowed into your mindscape." He expressed himself carefully, his claws in display as he appeared to clean them.

"Mindscape? The mind has something like  _ this _ ," he gestured towards his surroundings, "too? And what would that allow you to do?" His gaze was tied to those deadly talons.

"Exactly, it's like the dreamscape but a bit less flexible. It's a sort of connection, one end is your mind and the other is the physical realm. I would be like one of your hallucinations except that I am sentient."

"So that's where my hallucinations are from? The mindscape?"

"For most humans, yes, that's where they come from. For you… well, let's just say you're a bit special." 

Dipper opened his mouth to decline the deal in fear of being cooked alive in the palace kitchen, but Bill gave him a look that said about as much as sharpening a butcher's knife. The boy shuddered, better take the offer. What did he have to lose anyways? Nothing. He had exactly nothing to lose. His life was dull, a shadow of what it used to be before- It didn't matter. "I-I accept your offer." He sucked on his lip, hoping this wouldn't be a mistake.

"Excellent!" Bill held out one of his hands, beaming at Dipper in anticipation. This was only the first step. And  _ boy _ was he excited for the next ones.

Dipper smiled awkwardly. It would be fine. What could go wrong, right? He took Bill's hand. It ignited in blue flames which licked at his arm but didn't burn him all while Bill looked a bit too chipper. 

Maybe the deal was a mistake. It was a mistake. A big mistake.

Before he had any time to process, he was back in his bed. His eyes opened and were met by a glowing slit pupil.

Dipper shrieked and instinctively tried to hit the predator but his hand went straight through the monstrous muse hanging from the roof. His legs tensed, prepared to run. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" He panted and backed off until he hit his headrest, terrified. 

Bill cackled in delight. "OH you should've seen the look on your  _ face _ ! Priceless!" 

And here he was, thinking it would be a good idea to make a deal with the scary creature from his dreams. Hopefully there was a way to reverse it. Then again, maybe he deserved to be tortured. "Don't do that again or I'll-"

The door creaked open and Ford walked in, dressed in his formal professor attire. It wasn't too different from his normal clothes except that he cleaned his scientist's coat more often.

"Are you alright? I heard a scream." He glanced around with a worried expression.

"Fordsy hasn't changed at  _ all _ ." Bill crawled over the ceiling to Ford, inspecting him like he had inspected Dipper. "Still rocking the turtleneck, huh?"

"U-um no I'm fine… It was just uh, a nightmare." He looked into a random direction, his eyes focusing on one of the almost empty cartons he hadn't brought back down yet. Guilt crept up his gut for lying but there was no way he could explain that he had made a deal with a… whatever Bill called himself. Not yet at least. Ford would want to know but Dipper wasn't sure he wanted to witness his reaction.

"Alright…" Ford looked suspicious, he must've heard him talk to Bill after the scream. "If there's something you want to talk to me about, please do." 

"No, it's fine. I promise." He put on a tiny reassuring smile. Changing the topic would be a good idea. "So how was your day? Bullying problem solved?"

"Well it was okay. I talked to the girl who's the target of the bullies but she denied anything was wrong. How did your day go besides the nightmare?"

He shot a look at Bill who stuck his head through Ford's shoulder and said something about how they were conjoined twins now. "Wasn't  _ too _ eventful." 

Bill huffed and crossed his arms around Ford's torso. 

"I'm going to go prepare some experiments for tomorrow, you know where to find me." And with that Ford separated himself from Bill who… pouted? Hard to tell with the absence of a human face. 

Maybe he was less bite than bark. 

After breakfast, during which Bill took to explore the shack, Dipper sat on his bed, cuddled into the blanket with his laptop on his lap. He typed a few things and then instantly deleted them again. No matter what he wrote, it wasn't good enough. 

Weird noises emanated from Bill. A buzzing sound, footsteps, the shuffle of incorporeal fabric, throwing his thoughts out of the window whenever an idea popped up. Dipper sighed, he wanted Bill to stop but he didn't want to come off as rude and ruin the rest of his painful existence. So he started, very carefully. "Bill could you  _ please _ do whatever you're doing silently? I'm trying to concentrate here."

Fingernails tapping on metal. Creaking when Bill moved on the floor or over the ceiling. He exhaled. Did Bill make noises to throw him off or was that just a weird uncontrollable quirk? Dipper made the wood whine constantly but he had an actual physical weight. Unlike Bill who  _ floated _ over the boards.

"You know Pine Tree, I never get why you humans barf out your imagination on paper. Isn't it more fun to keep it to yourself and deprive others of what they can't think of themselves?" Bill showed interest in all of Dipper's belongings, annoyed by the fact he couldn't touch and therefore break them.

"No, it's a lot more fun to share it with others and see their reactions to it." A smile crossed his face when he thought of how excited Mabel had been when he wrote a short story for her on their birthday.

The bed creaked when Bill joined him and the boy flinched. "Could you not turn off the noises that don't make sense? That would be very helpful." Dipper hit the delete key on his previous string of words, anxious he had been too direct. Think before talking, idiot.

"Yes, I can  _ not _ turn off the noises that don't make sense if that's what you want." The grin was evident in his tone.

He felt a bit relieved at that. The muse, muse wasn't a very specific word, seemed to be humorous enough not to harm him. "...please turn it off?" He paused, contemplating whether to ask or not. "Wait so what exactly are you? A muse isn't that straightforward."

Bill hesitated. "Oh, just a magical creature." He cleaned his nails seemingly absentminded.

Dipper felt more comfortable with asking questions bit by bit, reassured by Bill's lack of aggression. "So what can you do then?" He moved his legs so they hung off the edge of the bed.

"Well, magic of course. Lots of deals. Dreams are my specialty." 

Dipper was certain he had meant nightmares because Bill didn't appear friendly at all. The generalness of his statements annoyed him though. "Okay a dream fairy, got it." This was too pushy for sure.

That seemed to pull on Bill's nerves. When he squinted at the boy, Dipper smiled triumphantly. He got the faintest feeling Bill didn't have the intention of harming him.

"If you really want to know, I'm a demon. There, now you can be happy." 

Dipper's smile fell back to the pits of hell where it burned.

" _ You _ asked to see the dark side of the moon, kid."

He. Had made. A deal. With a demon. The very thing his great uncle studied for years and tried to prove was real. The very thing he'd always warned him about. Ford never thought Dipper was mentally ill like everyone else did, he was sure it had to do with some supernatural force. And maybe he had been right all along. He may not have been harmed yet but who knew what a demon had in store for him. His stomach churned as anxieties cooked up. 

"Didn't think you'd be a whiskey kinda guy. Or alcohol in general." Bill motioned to the whiskey glass on his night stand, shattering the silence and throwing Dipper out of his spiraling thoughts for just a second.

Dipper frowned as he took the glass. What had he gotten himself into? "Actually that's just ice tea but I used to drink a lot a while back…" He made a deal with a demon. But did it really matter? It wasn't like there was much more for him to ruin anyways. The feeling of doom stuck regardless.

He was too focused on the golden liquid swirling in the glass to notice the  _ demon _ was now behind him, until he felt a cold tentacle on his shoulder and neck. Dipper shuddered, chills running over his body while dread flared up in his chest. 

"Oooh,  _ that's _ why you were so confused about me calling you Pine Tree." Bill looked at the pine tree tattoo on Dipper's neck. It was small and minimalistic but very well executed.

Dipper pulled away from the demon's touch, making sure to push his back against the wall so he couldn't get behind him again. "M-mabel and I had matching ones." 

"A shooting star I presume."

Dead right. Did he tell him about Mabel? No, he definitely didn't. What else did this demon know about him? "How do you know that?" 

Bill looked satisfied. "I may tell you more for a favor."

"Another deal? How can I even trust you? You're a  _ demon _ and I haven't gotten my side from the other deal yet." 

"No risk no fun, what do you have to lose?" 

Dipper considered it, frowning. There really wasn't much. Worst case scenario, Bill gets him killed and that didn't sound too bad, no more contemplating death but not following through with it. Melancholy washed over him. "...not much I guess…"

Bill grinned. "A favor for a favor. I need you to go to the forest and find something for me, you'll know what it is when you see it."

"How do I know where it is?"

"Just go where all our little hallucination friends are running from, I know you already suspected something there."

So there really was a reason for his hallucinations going into the same direction, good to know his brain worked sometimes. "But you tell me more about yourself on the way." 

"Of course," the demon purred. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE WE GO AGAIN, ANOTHER MONDAY ANOTHER UPDATE.
> 
> It’s gonna get more eventful but I gotta build up that base first you know. I don’t wanna promise too much but there may or may not be another update this week, I will be sure to put up a countdown on Insta if so.
> 
> Thank you for reading and special thanks to all the people who comment, love reading your thoughts. 
> 
> Special special thanks to Ginger who blesses us with reading this fic to the Billdip Network on Discord when new chapters air. Ging u doing hella.


	4. Magnificent Mansion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is not always safe.

Dipper wandered through the forest, leaves and twigs crushed beneath him. The late afternoon air was chill and his breath visible. The demon trailed behind him, seemingly curious about every second tree. He stopped to look at one more closely.

The boy didn't notice instantly since Bill had turned off the noises he  _ would _ make if he had a physical form. He glanced back after a while to see where Bill was at. Not out of concern but mistrust. "Didn't you promise to tell me about where you're from?" 

"Oh, I  _ will!  _ This tree right here was a very special one in my universe, that's where you opened the little vault to Journal 3."

"What do you mean 'your universe'? I opened the what now?" Dipper walked to Bill to inspect it himself. "That looks like a regular tree."

"I'm not from this specific universe. But in the other one I also had certain… ties to your family. They seem to run parallel to each other, not always though." Bill turned and walked into the direction of their destination. "It is just a normal tree here, but not where I'm from."

Dipper sighed and followed, a headache growing. Parallel universes? Could be possible but without further evidence he would stay sceptical. "How do I know you're not just making this up to get me to run errands for you?" He wasn't stupid and not about to let himself get hoaxed by some demon in his head.

"The shooting star tattoo for example, I was the one to give her the nickname! Yours too! I'm hurt you'd even think I'd lie to you, I stick to my word!" His voice sounded over the top dramatic and his gestures were unnecessarily wild and all over the place.

That still didn't really make much sense. "Alright… so what about magic? You said you're a magical being." He couldn't quite believe magic to be a thing. In fiction, sure, but in the real world? How come nobody used it? Maybe he was being set up.

"Magic, well it's real for starters. It's everywhere and anyone could use it if they knew how to." 

"I could use it too?"

"Of course! Some humans were smart enough to figure it out back in the day but they're all dead now. Witch hunting, those were the days!"

Dipper hummed in thought, sounded fake to him but for the slim chance that it wasn't, he definitely wanted to learn to use magic.

"That's how the pyramids were actually built by the way, magic! Sculpted after yours truly." 

He snorted at that, not surprised at all. A cocky demon, menacing at times and a drama queen at others, full of himself with an ego bigger than the distance from Earth to Alpha Centauri. And he'd made a deal with him. Just perfect, Dipper. Good job.

After a while of Bill rambling on about how he inspired the Illuminati and various other things in his supposed universe, Dipper stopped listening. His head pounded and dulled his other senses. 

During Dipper's moments of inattentiveness, Bill snuck one or several tentacles and arms around the boy's back. He picked up on his discomfort. "Pine Tree, don't look so upset! I'm sure you're gonna… inspire gigantic buildings one day!" Very unlikely but he couldn't tell that to the kid. "Although you'll never see it since people will only recognize your genius once you're dead. You know how it goes."

"N-no it's not that." He rubbed his forehead. "I'm having a migraine or something…" Dipper would push himself away from the tendrils holding him but he couldn't find the energy to do so. He hated to admit it but they actually did a good job of keeping him from falling over.

"Oh? Well it'll pass, I guess."

"Can we go back? It's getting dark anyways and I don't want to worry Ford…"

Bill hummed in contemplation. The kid was right about that, they would have to postpone their search. "Fordsy can't know about this, he'd… well I'm not sure what  _ your _ Sixer would do but let's not find out."

Dipper nodded in agreement. He wrote himself a mental note to get some painkillers.

They went back to the shack, being welcomed by Mabel as soon as they stepped in. For a second she seemed to look right at Bill but it must've just been Dipper's imagination.

"Where have you been? You seem exhausted." Her brows were pulled together in worry. "I've wanted to spend some time with you since I have to leave soon but you were gone."

"I took a walk through the forest but then I got a migraine. It's almost gone now so don't worry." He managed a small smile but it faded to concern, he didn't know his sister planned to go anywhere. Unless…? No, surely not. "What do you mean, leave? Where to?"

"I… I'll tell you later. Get some rest first."

Dipper sighed, rest sounded great for now. Hunger gnawed at him but he couldn't be bothered to cook anything. He was terrible at it and too lazy to stand in the kitchen for more than five minutes. However, he could be bothered to take a shower so he grabbed clean clothes and headed to the bathroom. He pulled the door shut with a creak and turned the key around. Then he slid his shirt off his shoulders and looked into the mirror.

"Yellow!" The demon's reflection grinned at him, single eye beaming from the shower as Dipper squealed.

" _ Bill!"  _ The boy half whispered, half shouted as he turned around. " _ Get out of the bathroom!" _

"Oh but why? It's pretty boring without you."

" _ I don't care! Out. Now." _

"Joykill." To Dipper's surprise, the demon actually decided to leave by merging through the door, his voice sounded muffled. "Alright, continue!" 

Dipper waited for a solid five minutes. When no other noises could be heard, he sighed and took off the rest of his clothes, then got into the shower. Warm water rewarded him and his muscles relaxed. His thoughts wandered until they found their way back to Bill. A mysterious being, too mysterious to know what his true intentions were. Maybe he just wanted to get his own business done? 

His thoughts meandered further, looking at the bigger picture of life. There was no real goal for him. No hopes, no dreams. Just life, in gray. No excitement, no change, just boring, pointless life. Until Bill had revealed himself at least, since then he had so many unanswered questions and things to do.

Then there was Mabel who said she would leave. Sadness washed over him. She couldn't actually have meant what he thought she did, right? 

When he was done, he put on the clean clothes and went to his room. Bill was nowhere to be seen so he assumed he was waiting for him to enter the dreamscape. Dipper was tired, slightly sad and had nothing better to do than sleeping, so that's exactly what he did.

Dipper found himself lying on hard stones, confused for a second before he looked up. He sat right in front of a gigantic palace, floating in space. "Woah." It was made of black marble with veins of shining gold. A pulse of every color imaginable rippled through them every now and then. The huge gate embedded with golden decoration stood ajar, just like his mouth. 

This was by far the most incredible piece of architecture he had ever seen. Dipper stood up to take it all in, eyes wandering over the stunning exterior of the building. He touched one of the marble walls, it felt warm and smooth, oddly like Bill's hands did. And he could feel the pulse. Amazing.

But he wasn't satisfied just yet. He went to the door and peeked inside. It was too dark to see much, the only light was coming from the pulsating veins. He entered and the door fell shut behind him with a thump. His breath hitched and he tensed up. Of course, that totally wasn't foreseeable. Just about when Dipper decided this was going to become a horror nightmare, the torches on the walls and the candles on chandeliers were illuminated by a blue flame, like the one that had ignited when Bill and him shook on the deal.

It took Dipper a while to take in modern yet elegant furnishings in black wood or stone, wine red fabrics and golden embellishments. A huge staircase led up to another fancy door. That must've been the room Bill would be waiting for him in.

He picked up a hint of ash in the air, like something burned in one of the hallways but there were so many, he wasn't likely to run into it. 

Dipper forgot all of his worries and bubbled with excitement, a smile found its way to his lips. But where to go first? It didn't really matter if he wanted to see all of it, so he turned to the hallway on the right. The tapping of his feet on the ground echoed through the palace, it seemed devoid of life, he couldn't imagine Bill spent too much time here. It must've been incredibly lonesome. Then again, Dipper had spent a lot of time alone in his apartment in LA and he hadn't planned for a demon to keep him company either.

After he walked past several paintings of the demon in various forms, mostly the triangular one, he found another door. He tried to turn the golden door knob but it didn't budge. Well that room was off limits apparently. He kept going, there were windows on one side of the hallway, they granted him view of the stars and nebulae outside. Dipper stopped for a moment to appreciate the view, he loved space.

He came upon a door of considerable size that seemed important because of how much more intricate the design looked compared to some of the other doors.

It opened up to reveal a fancy bedroom. Did Bill even need a bed? Unlikely, the demon probably just wanted to show off. He glanced around but everything seemed ordinary. Well... as far as demon palaces in his head went. Dipper left the room through another door and went into a random direction. 

A scream in the distance made Dipper's stomach coil. Blood rushed through him. "Hello?" Was his imagination messing with him?

From behind him came distorted laughter, the hairs on his neck stood and he shivered. When he turned around, there was a wall where the hallway had been. 

"What? How??" He slammed his hand against the wall, slightly panicked. "Ouch- guess I'll have to go elsewhere." 

Dipper walked away from the wall that had just materialized. He had known coming here would be a bad idea, he should've listened to himself. Damn demon.

Was it just him or were the lights getting dimmer?

Everything went dark, the only light came from the stars outside through the windows. He stood still, his breathing and heartbeat were suddenly way too loud. Dipper's stomach flared up in fear, like a monster could jump out at him on any given moment.

A dark voice cackled from all directions. Bill was just messing with him. There was no reason to freak out. Dipper tried to slow his breathing and not panic. It was fine. It was all a dream. Nothing could harm him here. He just needed to find a door.

So he followed the hallway, thankful there was at least a little light. Enough light to see eyes growing out of the walls, following his every move. He was watching.

Dipper broke into a light sprint, wanting to avoid more casualties. But what was that? The floor in front of him seemed to be moving? It was only Dipper's eyes, surely.

He took a step and instantly regretted it as his foot sank into the mass of what turned out to be a mass of writhing tentacles, tongues and teeth. Disgusting.

Dipper leapt off of them in a swift motion, but instead of hitting the floor he continued falling. Dipper screamed. Flailing. He tried to reach for something. Anything to hold onto. But as his fingers only grasped air, he was sure of his immediate death. 

Instead, he landed in charcoal arms and tentacles.

"Pine Tree, snooping around in other people's bedrooms isn't very polite, you know?" 

Dipper panted, adrenaline pumping through every vein.  _ Polite!? _ The demon could stick polite up his-

"I really scared ya, didn't I? Oh, you're so cute to play with!" Bill put Dipper down before he could even open his mouth. 

Did Bill just call him cute!? When Dipper caught his breath he sounded rather annoyed. "Are- are all demons this rude or is it just you?"

"Rude? Excuse you, I'm  _ nice _ compared to what other demons would've done to such a fragile little sapling as yourself! You should be happy I'm not annoying you more with all the restrictions your head gives me." Dipper still seemed upset. Not ideal, Bill needed him on his good side. "I can show you a room you're really gonna like if you want to."

Dipper's eyes sparkled with intrigue for a mere second before he tried to mask it behind nonchalance. He hated how easily the demon distracted him from the crap he just pulled but he couldn't help it. "I mean, sure?" 

So both of them went deeper into the fortress. It took a few twists and turns until his feet found golden carpet. This obviously lead to an important room. 

And indeed, another big door towered over him, flanked by two golden statues of Bill. Dipper snorted. Correction: Bill's ego was further than Alpha Centauri. With a snap of the demon's fingers the heavy door opened.

Before them stood gigantic book shelves, several stories high, filled to the brim with tomes, scrolls, loose papers and more. The smell of old paper made Dipper feel at home instantly and he couldn't stop himself from running into the library, full of excitement.

He looked up while turning around himself, getting dizzy from the motion and from the sheer mass of knowledge stored in this room. He couldn't fathom it. 

"I knew you'd love this." Bill watched as Dipper took a random book, it was dirty and torn, it's cover devoid from any letters. He flipped it open, glancing at letters he couldn't read. Then he took another one, it had a very decorative cover, on its pages were letters he knew but he couldn't make sense of them. 

Dipper's brain hungered for knowledge and it growled at him in anticipation. This would make for great inspiration for a story or fifty. "Is it possible for me to come here more often and read? With help if it's a language I don't know?" All the feelings of mistrust banished so far back into his mind that for a moment, he forgot they were even there in the first place.

"Oh, of course!" The demon was glad the kid finally gave into him, it would save him a lot of trouble.

"Really?" He couldn't believe it. Being in here every night? No more nightmares? It was too good to be true.

" _ But _ only if you do something for me in return." Dipper's excitement crumbled to dust and the demon picked up on it. "Come on, you're the one with an open end now. You haven't found the statue yet but I have enough trust in you to know you're gonna find it for me."

Dipper sighed, he had a point. Both deals they made so far were fulfilled on Bill's end. 

"So hear me out, you get to read  _ every  _ book in here, with my assistance so you can understand them. I can give you any additional information you could possibly want and in return, you need to get me out of your head, into a physical form."

Dipper was incredibly tempted, he thirsted for knowledge, but he couldn't agree just yet. "I don't know… That sounds like hard work and I don't think I could even hold up my end of the deal." 

"Don't worry about that, I will guide you. You only have to do what I say." The demon paid close attention to Dipper, he needed him to agree. "Alright, I'll add magic training on top of that for free, no extra charges or anything like that."

"Bill it sounds too good to be true… I think I need more time to think about this. I don't really know you well enough and you're a demon. From my perspective, this sounds like the start of a movie where you trick me and then take over the world or something." Dipper rubbed over his neck. Magic training sounded better than anything he ever thought to be possible but he couldn't take this big of a potential risk.

"Well, I have time, kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update wheee- Okay not really.


	5. Speak with Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The spell ends.

The past month had been quite a weird one, so to speak. Dipper still pondered over the deal Bill offered, too tempted to refuse it right off the bat. Surprisingly, Bill left him a lot of space. 

Well except that one time when he visited Dipper in the shower to complain about how he couldn't torment other people in their dreams anymore. Or that other time when he told Dipper about how fancy old blouses were and how sad it was they went out of fashion. Dipper managed to silence Bill when he started to ramble about slicing people up and doing unholy things with their corpses back in the pirate days. 

Bill's presence wasn't all unpleasant. He kept Dipper better company than he gave him credit for. In fact, Dipper felt lonely and useless when he didn't come around for a while. Like right at that moment. He had no friends besides Mabel and the other two people he talked to were his great uncle and a demon he wasn't even sure actually existed. Bill could be a hallucination his mind made up to feel less alone. He was sad. Sad, lonely and pathetic.

But should he accept the deal he had been offered? No amount of knowledge would help him if he gave Bill the means to cause the apocalypse like he had in his mind when he was 12. And there were no valid points to trust him either. The demon was the reason Dipper was so scared and paranoid, shut out by all the other kids who thought he was crazy because he saw things they didn't. Dipper wasn't crazy, he wished he would've known that earlier because for a long time he believed it. 

Then again, it wasn't like anything truly mattered to him anymore and at least his loneliness faded with Bill around. It was desperate but was there anything better for him to do than to run errands for a demon? Desperate times called for desperate measures.

He should ask Mabel for advice.

"Dipper your parents called earlier, why didn't you pick up?" Ford entered the kitchen with the telephone in hand.

"I really don't like phone calls and they know they can text me if they need anything."

"Hm, alright. To be fair I hated them too when I was younger." The phone beeped and rang until somebody picked up. "Good morning, it's Ford, I saw you called earlier?"

Dipper couldn't hear what was being said on the other end but it was likely his mom.

"Ah, yes of course… Oh you can stay here if you want to, we have enough space… Alright, sure… Yes I'll let him know, good bye!" Ford wasn't exactly a small talk guy.

"What did she say?"

"They're coming over on Thursday, your mom said they'll bring the rest of your belongings. And she said to tell you they miss you."

"Okay…" What was he supposed to respond to that? 'Thanks' would be kind of weird, but just ignoring it would be rude.

When Dipper finished eating, he went upstairs to look for Mabel. She sat on his bed as if expecting him to want to talk to her. 

"Mabel..." he started carefully as he shut the door, then sat down next to her. "I need your advice."

"Well, shoot before you choke on it!" 

"So, if you meet someone and they offer you something you really want but you know you have to give them something in return which could be misused and endanger people, how do you choose?" 

Mabel hummed in thought. "Hm… depends on the person, maybe you need to get to know them better." A sad look crossed her face for a second, unnoticed by Dipper. "Unrelated to that, I'd like to be spending some time with you tonight, if you want to."

"Okay, I'll try that, thanks… We haven't had a sleepover in a while, are you up for that?" 

"Yes! I was waiting for you to ask me forever! I wasn't sure you'd still want one as a grown up." Mabel smiled and bolted out of the room, she made no sound as if her feet didn't even touch the ground, returning with her blankets and pillows. 

They made themselves comfortable with snacks and drinks and Dipper doodled. He started with some sketches of animals, but all he could think about was the deal and Bill. 

What would Bill look like as a human? After all he wanted a body and he couldn't exactly run around as an eldritch being with tentacles and floating arms. 

A few strokes, some more lines and his human Bill took shape. He turned out to be tall with long legs and his upper body resembled an upside down triangle, covered in a fancy white tie except the bow tie was actually supposed to be golden. 

"Who's that, Dip Dop?" Mabel peeked over his shoulder and threw her light arms around Dipper.

"Oh that's just-" 

" _The_ Bill Cipher, at your service!" Bill chimed in. "I _like_ it! A classy flesh suit for a classy demon. How'd you come up with it?"

"Well, I gave you the suit because you seem like you'd be some kind of narcissistic business man."

"Oh? I suppose that's true." He materialized a bowtie made of yellow light and a top hat as black as the rest of his body. Then Bill also added parts that resembled a white tie suit in the same color as the bowtie. He roamed over to the mirror in the corner of the room.

After a while of looking at his new form, Bill turned around. Mabel's gaze was fixed to him, her face unreadable. 

It was almost funny to the demon. The twins looked and acted similarly to the twins from his universe. Except here, one of them was dead. "So, why exactly are we all pretending Shooting Star's still alive?" 

The fragile glass wall shattered. Their conversation died and a long, agonizing silence followed. Dipper and Mabel shared a look before Dipper averted his eyes.

"I couldn't just leave him here all by himself! He was doing so, so good until I died and then I saw him fall back down and- I couldn't go without knowing he'd at least be stable!"

“You must be able to connect to Dipper through me then. Normally humans cant interact with spirits.” Bill blinked, fairly unphased. "But then how are you still here? Death doesn't just overlook her duties. I know her personally, she's an _absolute_ workaholic." 

" ...I talked to her and told her about us. She agreed to give me more time but she can't manage to keep my soul from fading for much longer." Mabel looked at her brother, her gaze full of sorrow. "I'm sorry Dipper but… I'll have to leave you tonight." 

He should've confronted himself with the harsh reality earlier. Mabel died a year ago and he hadn't gotten over it yet but it was time for her to leave and time for him to move on. Pain welled up in his chest. Hopefully Bill would prove to be an aid and not a burden.

"I...I understand. I knew this day would come. You don't have to worry anymore Mabel, I have someone to keep me company." He shot a look at Bill, biting his lip, then added, "Even if he is an annoying businessman demon." Dipper even managed a small, albeit sad, smile but it fell apart into tears, sobs and sniffles. His sister would leave him tonight. His best friend, taken by a fire, talked to Death herself to stay with him for another year to make sure he wouldn't fall deeper into the pit of depression. His heart wrenched in pain at this realization.

Mabel hugged Dipper to the point he would've been suffocating if she was still alive. "I'll miss you," she murmured into Dipper's shoulder, "you were the best brother, don't- don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise!" 

Dipper cracked up completely and buried his face in her pink signature sweater. "The same g-goes for you- I'll miss you so much-" His heart ached so bad it felt like someone stabbed him and twisted the knife. Mabel's incorporeal one must've been feeling the same.

They remained in that position for what felt like ages. They sobbed and cried but also talked. Sometimes they laughed about the things stupid that happened in their childhood. For a moment they felt like they were kids again, carefree and full of energy until they remembered Mabel was going into the unknown, never to be seen again by any human.

Bill left them their privacy but he knew Mabel's time was up. He didn't exactly understand the two. Or at least didn't want to, emotions seemed way too pointlessly exhausting. "I have to interrupt you two. Mabel you're running short on time." 

She sniffed and pushed her hair out of her face. "Right." 

"We can bring you to your grave if you'd like," Bill offered.

"If you want to."

Dipper nodded, his throat hurt from crying and his eyes were puffy. He would honor every second he still had with her.

They went outside, it was a warm night for April. The sky was clear and the stars watched over them. Mabel and Dipper walked hand in hand, they reminisced over all the fun times they had together in hushed voices. Mabel's crushes, Dipper trying to cook, them painting together. He couldn't describe how fond he was over those memories.

Bill led them to Mabel's grave and the twins shared a long hug, their last one. When Death appeared, in her dark cloak, her face was the skull of a deer and scythe in hand, they broke apart from their embrace.

"Long time no see, Cipher. You're not the one responsible for this, are you?" Her voice was too smooth and too cold to be contained in any body, only Bill could hear her. 

"Must be a surprise for you but not this time. I'm here to make sure the boy stays." 

"I see."

While the two extraterrestrial beings talked, Dipper cried silently and Mabel took his hands. "Take care of yourself, and promise me to try to be happy, okay? I'm not taking no for an answer."

Dipper nodded and cleared his throat. "I'll try. I promise." He wiped off his tears, there was no reason to cry. Mabel was fine and all that mattered now was to try to fulfill her wish.

"Are you ready to go Mabel? I would give you more time but there's only one of me." Death put her skeletal hand on Mabel's shoulder. 

Mabel gave Dipper's hands a tight squeeze. "Now I am. And Bill? Take care of my brother or I'll come back from the dead." 

Dipper admired how strong Mabel was, not at all scared of Death and so enthused.

"I'll make sure he's fine! Wouldn't _dare_ to have to interrupt your peace." His tone was light hearted and he patted Dipper's hair to support his statement.

Mabel smiled at him, then Dipper and took Death's hand. "Good bye!" She waved at them until they slowly faded away.

"Bye!" Dipper called, tears blurred his vision despite his best efforts 

When they were gone, feelings flooded him again. He would never ever see her again. 

Dipper sobbed and hugged Bill. The demon was very confused at first but then put several of his arms and tentacles around Dipper and combed through his curls. 

Hugs were nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BUT THIS IS A SURPRISE CHAPTER HAHA-
> 
> Okay, ngl writing this was like rubbing my body against a cheese grater while trying to coax out emotions that I do not possess. Editing didn't do much either. So that being said, I’m sorry. If you have tips on writing the big sad, bls share with the class.
> 
> On another note, I have a couple of artworks up on Insta of how this Bill looks like in my head as of this chapter. Go over there if you’re interested.
> 
> P.S. That Major Character Death tag is looking real spicy over there.


	6. Geas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Binding oneself comes with consequences.

A few days passed. Dipper sat in the gigantic library, flipping through books which he couldn't read. Yet. A sigh escaped him, all he needed to do was to accept the deal and he would possess knowledge most humans couldn't even dream of. But at what cost?

His string of thoughts was interrupted by a high pitched ringing. The doorbell. He was immediately thrown out of his slumber and thus, Bill's palace. It must've been his parents.

On the way down the stairs he tripped and stubbed a toe in the process but the bit down the pain. Then, he opened the door with a creak, still in his pyjamas.

"Dipper!" He got squished by his mom's hug, as deadly as his sister's. Another pair of arms, belonging to his dad, wrapped around them.

He was too sleepy for this to be quite honest but his parents visiting was nice every once in a while. "Hey mom, hey dad." Dipper's voice was muffled by a raincoat before both of them let go.

"It's been a while, how are you doing?" His dad took off his coat and put it on a hanger, his mom doing the same.

"Well, I feel better for sure. Birds are a lot nicer to be around all day than honking cars." He smiled, not missing the city for a moment.

His dad shot a look at his mom. "I told you he couldn't take the city stress for long." 

"He might've if Mabel was still…" She stopped for a second as Dipper averted his gaze. "You know what? Let's get the rest of your belongings in here before it starts raining again." She stepped out into the mud and opened their car. Dad followed and Dipper slipped on some boots to join in. 

Together they unloaded a few more boxes and put them into the hallway to be brought upstairs later. They settled onto the new couch in the living room and talked for a while, exchanging what was going on in their lives. Dipper's parents mostly told him about work and their neighbors and Dipper said a bit about the forest and Ford. He couldn't exactly tell them he'd been talking to a dream demon and his dead sister.

"So, have you made any new friends here?"

Dipper bit his lip. "I mean... I guess? I met someone interesting."

"Oh good! You'd better find some nice people here, don't want you to become a hermit again." His mom said that with irony but Dipper knew she meant it. He felt kind of bad for being such a troublesome kid, looking back at when Mabel had recently passed and he had shut out everyone and turned to drinking. He knew how worried sick his parents had been. Probably hadn't been the greatest time for any of them. 

"No, that won't happen again. I've… actually gotten a lot better about… her being dead for a year now." Dipper's eyes wandered to the floor and he fiddled with his shirt. That was an improvement compared to him breaking down into tears every time Mabel crossed his mind.

His mom smiled sadly, putting an arm around Dipper. "I'm glad you feel a bit better."

"Do you want to look at some albums of you two? We also brought her sketchbooks," his dad asked.

Dipper owned some of Mabel's sketchbooks and he flipped through a very specific one when he missed her the most. The one that had survived the fire. Sure, some of the corners were a bit dark but fine for the most part. It was filled with doodles of girls in all kinds of clothes, cats, dogs and silly dreams she has had.

He also owned all of the sketchbooks filled with… the  _ spicier  _ drawings. He hadn't looked into them out of respect for Mabel's privacy. Anytime she'd drawn in them and their parents came in, she'd slam the books shut and hide them under her bed because they always wanted to know what she was drawing. Dipper could've just gotten rid of them since nobody was allowed to look at them anymore but he felt that was too cruel for something as sentimental as art.

"Sure." They sat down on the floor to spread the big album open, reliving the old days and shedding a few tears. Mabel had a smile as radiant as the sun in most of them. When Ford came home he joined them, adding an album Stan had made for her 18th birthday. It was full of artsy things Mabel did over the summer holidays and left at the shack, pictures of her covered in glitter, glue and uncooked pasta.

After they looked through all of it, they decided to go visit Mabel's grave. It was her death day after all. The sky was cloudy until they arrived and it was like Mabel welcomed them with a smile of sunshine. 

They brought her the most colorful flowers and said their words of grief. Dipper didn't say as much because he knew everything was said and settled between them. Tears fell regardless. They weren't sad ones and neither were they happy, he missed her and it felt like a piece of him had left but he was content now that she got to rest in peace.

Ford shared a look with him to let him know he could relate to how he felt. He wasn't alone and that comforted him just a little.

The Pines shared a silent hug and made their way back to the shack.

Dinner was very quiet at first, the only noises came from the silverware clinking against the plates. Dipper also heard whispers coming from a dark shadow in the room but he was well aware it wasn't real. Still distracting and annoying though. Did Bill know more about the hallucinations? He needed to ask him later.

Finally, Ford broke the silence, "Dalia, I have to say your cooking is divine."

"Oh thank you, Ford. I enjoy doing it as much as I enjoy eating." 

His mom always made the best food, closely followed by Mabel. When they still lived together, she always had to take on cooking duty because Dipper either burnt the food or it tasted gross due to unknown reasons. After she moved to her own place, Dipper often ordered his meals online, made instant noodles or ate something equally unhealthy. He'd never refuse to come over for dinner if Mabel invited him. 

Then they slowly started to talk about Ford's classes at school and his mom's newest novel until the mood brightened again. His dad and Ford even geeked out about the most recent computer hardware at one point. 

Good, Mabel wouldn't want them to be sad because of her. She was a bright and happy girl. 

Once his parents left, Dipper carried the remaining boxes upstairs with Ford's help. Most of them full of with books and clothing that he didn't actually need. Neither did his parents though. They also contained some of his older sketchbooks and room decoration. He sorted out a few things that would only collect dust and put them outside of his room. He'd throw them away later.

After that Dipper brushed his teeth. He wanted to settle the deal question, once and for all, but he didn't have enough trust in Bill yet. They needed to talk.

He headed to his room and a now well dressed demon waited, perched on his bed.

Bill looked up from his nails which he'd been inspecting. "Finally! I was waiting all day to annoy you by yourself." 

Dipper snorted and sat on the chair at his desk, rolling his eyes. "Wow, what a great honor." 

"Somehow I don't feel very appreciated." The demon grinned and sat up straight. "Looks like you digested the whole Shooting Star ordeal pretty well, huh? You seem better."

"Yeah I guess so…" Dipper wanted to thank the demon but he wasn't exactly sure why. Bill hadn't really helped, had he? 

"So, how was the family meeting thing? Wasn't really present for most of it."

"It was nice. I haven't seen mom and dad in a while so.." Dipper didn't care to go deeper into it and Bill seemed to have his interest elsewhere as well. "Um… I've actually been meaning to ask you about my hallucinations. I figured you'd know more about them."

"Well, go ahead, I don't bite. Sorry, corrections: I  _ won't  _ bite." 

He smiled at that, typical. "Do you know why I have them?" 

"Oh, I do! You see, I've been bound to your mind since you were born and I only have access to a small portion of my power from here. The more energy I charge up the more space it takes up in your mind, sort of. It's complicated so I won't go into detail but basically parts of my power go over into the part of your mind that processes sensations. The result is hallucinations. Another point why the deal would be beneficial to you! No me in your head, no hallucinations." 

Energy, huh? Just how powerful was he? "So the more power you have, the more hallucinations I see?"

"Kind of! That's why you didn't see any when you were way younger, I had a hard time charging up enough energy to even know where I was."

Dipper nodded, that changed a lot but then again, he reminded himself that this was a demon he was talking to. "What if you wanted me to hallucinate intentionally?"

"That would cost me a ton of power, sitting here right now is taking some actually but not as much since you willingly let me in here."

So… Bill wasn't at fault for all the problems his hallucinations had caused then. The bullying, thinking he was insane, none of it was his doing. Well, technically it was but it wasn't his intention to make people think he was crazy. The hallucinations were just a byproduct of him being there.

Dipper fell into silence. The deal would mean giving Bill a body and access to his powers. But Bill didn't seem to want any harm except spooking Dipper for his own amusement. Bill would give him all the knowledge he possessed  _ and _ Dipper would get to learn how to use magic. If Bill had a body of his own, he also wouldn't have him in his head all the time. 

He concluded, there was nothing to lose. He had no goals in life and he didn't need to worry for his sister anymore. This would mean only a potential friend and magical abilities to gain. "The deal is still open, right?

Bill instantly perked up, his eye beaming. "Of course! No added fees, still on the same terms."

"You give me all the knowledge I want and magic training, in return I help you get a physical form?" 

"Yes." The demon grinned in anticipation as he got up from the bed. He held out one of his hands, it lit up in blue flames.  _ Finally. _

Dipper swallowed hard, he hoped this wouldn't be the biggest mistake he had ever made. His hand was soon engulfed by the fire and touched Bill's brimstone one. The demon grabbed it, shook it tightly and the flames went out.

"Congratulations, Pine Tree! You've just got yourself the deal of your lifetime!" 

A feeling crept up in the demon. Was that… guilt?   


No, it couldn't be. Must've been coming from the kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s getting warmer but the burn is slow, you gotta wait some more. The chapters after this are finally going to have more Bill / Dipper interaction so get ready for that.


	7. Sympathy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Effective to more than one side.

The next day, Bill decided to throw Dipper out of bed early. It turned out to be as easily done as it was said. All it took was to shove him down an endless abyss.

Only in his dreams, of course.  _ For now _ .

And indeed, after about a second of falling into unending darkness, Dipper bolted up with a scream. " _ Bill _ what the heck was that for!?"

The demon sat on Dipper's chair with his brand new feet and legs resting on the desk. His two arms were folded behind his head, a mischievous grin resting on his face. "Oh, it's very simple! The sooner you get to work, the sooner I'll get to have my body!" Since both of his arms were occupied, an additional tentacle pushed out of his body to do the gesturing. "Sorry for shortening your beauty sleep but you really don't need it."

Dipper was absolutely baffled. Was supposed to be a compliment? In that case it wasn't a very good one because he knew the bags under his eyes made him look like a soon-to-be corpse. Though his head was still too drowsy to argue so he got up. Was he ready to wander around with a demon in search for hell-knows-what to make him a body? Nah. Would he have to do it anyways? Yep.

It was barely dusk and the forest appeared just as foggy as Dipper's head. When they left the shack, the boy got a closer look at Bill's new legs. He didn't expect the demon to prefer them to whatever pile of appendages had been there before. "So what's up with the bipedalism? Did you get bored of the tentacles?" 

A snort came from Bill. "No, I just thought it would be easier if I adapted to legs before getting a physical body." He added under his breath, "Bored of tentacles, as if." 

Well, to be fair, Bill didn't even walk, instead he floated a few inches above the ground. "But you're not gonna pull off the floating thing when everyone can see you, right?"

"Eeeh, we'll see about that. Walking sounds annoying. Too much effort for what you get."

Floating did seem nicer but Dipper was used to walking and it probably wasn't that much harder. 

It was weird how human Bill looked now. Except for his face, an eye surrounded by shadows, and the fact that his body and clothing were pretty much the same substance. Definitely uncanny valley, but still human.

"Alrighty! Let's go and I'll explain the plan on the way!" He grabbed Dipper's arm and drifted off into the forest. 

"No need to drag me." Dipper pulled himself free and walked beside Bill. His boots made a gross sound when they hit the wet ground and the sky was overcast by clouds. "I should've brought an umbrella or something," he whispered to himself.

Bill constantly scanned their surroundings to find what they needed. Trees. Trees. Grass. Twigs. Stones. Trees. Lost in his own thoughts, he almost didn't hear Dipper. Almost.

"So, are you gonna tell me what we have to do or do I learn how telepathy works first?"

"Telepathy is hard, kid! Good luck with that!" He paused for a second to debate whether or not to actually answer him. "Well, we need to get some specific flowers, gems and a few sentimental things like golden coins and old well-loved books." Of course that wasn't all there was to it but it would not be a great idea to spill the more… ' _ rare' _ objects yet. "Then there's also some other things but we'll get to that later." He bent down in the most disturbing way possible to inspect a yellow flower. "Ah, there it is." He tried to pluck it but his fingers slipped through.

Dipper snickered and put a hand over his mouth, trying to subdue the full on laugh that was about to leave him. But Bill looked at the flower as if it had just insulted him and Dipper couldn't hold the chuckle for long.

"Hey! This isn't a laughing matter!" The demon pouted and crossed his arms, looking to the side.

Dipper broke out into laughter, teary-eyed and holding his stomach. "Haha- You look like a child who just- who- hah- just got his toy taken away!" He wiped away at his watery cheeks. This was too good.

Bill scoffed angrily. "Well you  _ are  _ a child!" And then stomped off. 

"H-hey wait up!" Dipper picked the flower and ran after him, trying to compose himself with a stupid smile on his lips. When he caught up with Bill, he started again. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." His previous smile faded into a more apologetic one. 

"Hmpf." The demon glowered at a tree in the distance. It would be on fire if they were in the dreamscape. "I doubt that."

"I am really sorry. I didn't mean to get on your nerves…" Truthfully, he wouldn't have made that comment if he'd have known the demon would be so upset by it. It had been entertaining at first but now...

When Bill's eye found Dipper's expression to be sincere, a sigh escaped him and his arms fell to his sides. "Fine, apology accepted." Who could be mad at such an adorable flesh suit? Certainly not him and no other living being either.

A droplet of rain hit Dipper's cheek. And another followed. The weather forecast had been right for once. "Ugh, I knew I should've put on a raincoat…" More water hit his skin little by little but the clouds could tear any moment and release an unwanted forest shower on him. Even hail if he had really bad luck. "We need to go back."

"But why? It's just a bit of water." Then he paused. "You're not allergic to that, are you?" He had seen him shower before so he should be fine. Not that he was concerned for the boy.

"No, but if you want your body soon I won't be much help in bed with the flu." Dipper didn't wait for Bill's approval to walk back, his steps hurried while he observed the clouds.

"The flu isn't so bad, you should've seen when people were  _ actually  _ sick, like with the black death! Ah, fun times… So many people desperate for deals. The doctor outfits were the best back then!" 

Before Dipper could form a response, heavy drops fell. He sighed and picked up his pace but it didn't take long for him to break into a sprint when the rain started to hit like a shower of bullets. 

"Wow, very athletic." Bill floated backwards and in front of the boy so he was facing him. Effortless. Being a demon was great.

"Can it!" 

Over the next couple of days, they collected more 'ingredients' from inside the shack since it was too rainy to go out. Old books with sentimental value weren't hard to find at all as both Dipper and Ford would sell their souls for books. So much so that one of them already did it. Technically.

Dipper sifted through boxes of Stan's old stuff in hopes of finding something that would suit Bill's ritual. 

He had his hands on a magazine when the demon appeared, peering over his shoulder and shouting next to his ear. "Nice stuff you've got there! Didn't think 'Retirement Pinups' would be your kind of thing though."

Dipper flinched and flung the magazine away. "Why do you always have to jumpscare me like that!? And  _ ew! _ Seriously! Ew!"

It seemed to be Bill's turn to chuckle. Well, more like a cackle. "It's fine, I don't judge. I've seen a lot weirder!"

"Ugh…" Dipper frowned and shook his head as he rummaged through the rest of the box until he stumbled upon something golden and shiny. He pulled out a coin and turned to Bill with one eyebrow pulled up. 

The demon looked over it curiously, eye lighting up. "Perfect! This'll do great!" 

A smile tugged on Dipper's lips, he knew those boxes would have objects of importance in them.

When the sun finally decided to grace them again and the air warmed, Bill proposed to go outside for more things they needed. He led them to a river which they followed.

"So, since we're business partners now, shouldn't I get to know a bit more about you?" Dipper's feet crunched on the gravel and stones beneath him. 

"For example?" 

"Like, why are you in this universe if you were from another? What happened in order for you to get stuck with me?" 

Bill hesitated. "Well, let's just say there are higher powers than me. I'm not sure why I ended up here, all I know is that I am where I am right now." He didn't care to go into detail. The kid didn't need to know.

Dipper had hoped for a more in depth answer but sure. "Good enough I guess…So what are you doing when you're not pulling on my nerves?" Dipper asked innocently.

"Meditating, in a way. It helps me recharge faster so I can annoy you more." He underlined that by ruffling through Dipper's hair, who then tried to grab Bill's hand only to find his own curls. 

"No fair! You touch me all the time but I can only touch you when we shake hands!" Dipper pouted.

"You wanna know why? Because  _ you _ feeling  _ me _ costs energy which I worked so hard for! So, touching is exclusive for special occasions." The demon grinned at Dipper. "Pouting suits you, kid."

Dipper let out a sigh of resignation.

Their conversation ebbed away but they continued walking in a comfortable silence. They picked up some special but otherwise pretty boring looking herbs and were headed back. Nothing out of the ordinary happened but the lack of hallucinations made Dipper concerned. He hadn't had one all day. "Are you losing power or why am I not seeing weird things? Like right now nothing is really going on except for you being there."

Bill grinned in a way that suggested a sense of pride to Dipper.

"You finally noticed! I'm trying to repress the hallucinations so you can be a bit more productive. It's also heavily linked to both of our moods so if you get frightened for example, your hallucinations go horror movie wild."

"Huh, interesting. Thanks… I guess?"

That's when Bill stopped dead in his tracks, investigating the ground. Dipper was about to ask if he said something wrong but Bill was quicker.

"Would ya look at that! This saves us a lot of time."

"Huh?" Dipper stopped as well to join the demon. A gem of subtle turquoise sat between the rocks next to the river. He bent down to pick it up and it did not disappoint. It was beautiful, smooth like glass and such a nice color too. The sun made it look like it was glowing. "What is it?"

"Something very special, I think I'll show you another time." Bill turned to the direction of the shack. He was done for today.

"Fine, Mr. Mysterious." 

"For you it's just Lord Cipher." 

Dipper smiled into himself. Maybe the demon's ego was growing on him just the tiniest bit.

At the end of the week, Dipper had creative input. Finally. He scribbled down notes and did messy sketches on his bed, his mood being bright for once. His pencil glided over the paper effortlessly, the marks it left were pleasing. 

"What are you drawing?" Bill asked out of the blue. Dipper flinched and withheld a squeal. To the demon's credit, he had been standing there for ten minutes at least. Not his fault Dipper didn't notice him.

"Oh, it's just you." Dipper shifted to make space next to himself. He waited until Bill sat down. "The whole hallucination thing kind of inspired me, so I had this idea. It's about a little girl who has hallucinations but she's very brave so she becomes friends with them."

His finger pointed at the girl he drew. She wore a sweater that was too big for her and she had bandaids all over her legs and one on her face. In her hand she held a book.

"The book is where she draws all of her hallucination down and collects their names and other information about them." 

Bill couldn't help but think about how endearing that was. Something inside him shifted. "This is too wholesome for me, put it away!" 

Dipper only chuckled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should really note down my thoughts when I edit bc by the time this goes up I already forgot everything again H-


	8. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could it have been avoided?

One of the days of ingredient searching, an exhausted Dipper came home to be greeted by a delicious smell emanating from the kitchen. Ford cooked bacon with scrambled eggs in an old red pan with his eyebrows pulled down.

"Is everything alright?" His grunkle always frowned when he thought about mathematical problems or something of the kind, he wasn't too worried.

"Well, not really I suppose… Do you want some?"

"No, thanks." Dipper grew a bit of a dislike for meat over the years, the taste and consistency bothered him. He did like eggs though.

"So," Ford started while he took a seat. "You remember what I told you about the bullying problems in my class?" 

Dipper nodded, leaning against the wall. He felt his need for sleep consume him.

"She still won't admit that anything's wrong even though I've been in the same room, saw it happen _and_ intervened multiple times. She's on her phone or sleeping a lot in class and when she's not she looks very stressed and tired."

Despite his attempts to focus, Dipper's eyes fell closed more than once. He related to the tiredness part. Turned out wandering through the forest all day with a noisy f(r)iend could wear him out pretty fast. "Maybe approach her more carefully? Let her… let her know she's safe with you." Dipper let out a suppressed yawn. "Sorry, I'm a bit sleepy."

Ford smiled, waving him off. "Go to bed, Dipper."

That invitation would gladly be taken. Without another word, he got up and turned on his heels, about to walk out.

"And thanks for your help."

"No problem."

At night, Dipper spent his time exclusively in the palace, reading. He devoured well over ten books by now. They ranged from diaries of important historical figures to ancient tomes about magic, though Bill had told him the magic books were inaccurate since magic wasn't as black and white as humans would want it to be.

Sometimes Bill joined him and read aloud for him if he felt like it. This was one of those times.

Dipper sat on the most comfortable couch, a blanket pulled over his legs and his head buried in a book about fantastical creatures. He flipped to the chapter about demons when Bill threw himself next to Dipper.

"Hey there, Pine Tree. Having fun without me?" He glanced over the open pages. 

He smiled. "Heaps of it."

"Want me to read? Meditating got kinda boring."

Dipper truly enjoyed the way Bill read out loud, it was colorful and exciting, he never dulled down and had a fun comment to everything, often times even backstage knowledge. Who would've thought demons could be so friendly?

Dipper loved to read alone too, but it just didn't have that _spark_ that Bill possessed. His thoughts couldn't convey the liveliness Bill put into it. And if he were to be completely honest, Bill made good company in general. 

"Yes please!" He handed the book over to the demon and cuddled himself into the blanket.

"Here I go; 'Demons are beings of a sort of magical power, often with malevolent intentions.' Oh come on that's demonophobic!" 

Dipper chuckled. "Just look at you, reading a book to a human. How much more evil can it get?" 

"Don't you tempt me or I'll start feeding you!" The demon materialized a spoon with which he gestured. "And I won't be very nice about it!"

"Suuuure." He shook his head and smiled.

Bill cleared his throat before resuming. " 'Some demons have the ability to possess humans or even animals. If a family member is behaving odd for a considerable period of time, send them to an exorcist.' Ah yes, back in the day when they thought exorcisms were all easy peasy… The people were laughable, really. The only ones with proper magic skills were the ones they called witches and burnt. Real smart."

"Exactly! I always thought of that as stupid." Dipper shifted into a more upright position. "What about holy water? Does that hurt your kind?"

"Oh, it stings for sure but it's not deadly to stronger demons. It's as if I threw sand in your face." A pile of sand appeared in his hand along with a grin.

Dipper pulled the blanket over his face as a makeshift shield. "No sand! Please spare me! Mercy!" 

"Well, make sure to let me know if you ever feel like it!"

He lowered the blanket to peek at his opponent for just a moment. "Am I safe to come out now? If you lie I'll throw sand at you when you have a body!"

Dipper didn't see Bill's grin falter through the blanket. 

Right. He would have a body. "...Yeah it's safe." 

The boy put the blanket to the side. "Alright, continue."

" 'Should a demon be haunting your house, burn some sage and put up crosses.' "

"Let me think… it'll make your house smell stinky?"

"Exactly! The crosses do as much to me as they do to an atheist so that's that."

"Has there ever been a way to keep you out effectively?"

"Unicorn hair. I assume your universe is devoid of most magical creatures, I'm not sure why though. Oh, installing metal plates into your head also works with the right inscriptions on it."

Dipper laughed, holding his hand in front of his mouth. "Someone actually did that? That guy must've had some major paranoia issues"

"Probably one of the most paranoid people I've ever known. But for good reason I guess." If only Dipper knew.

"Sounds insane to me." He smiled.

Bill read the whole chapter for Dipper, he told him more details about demons like how they were capable of expressing human emotions, usually only when they were connected to one.

There was, however, something weird Dipper noticed over the last couple of days. Bill's excitement towards the ritual and getting a body seemed to falter. When Dipper brought it up, Bill would lose that glint in his eye or even switch topics. Maybe he was just nervous. Demons could get nervous too, right?

But he couldn't stop thinking about it. Why did all of the things they needed for the ritual seem so… ordinary? He had expected them to need dead deer or worse. Well he wasn't complaining obviously but it made little sense.

Currently, Dipper and Bill strolled through the forest. The air was warm as the sun watched from above. 

"So, what are you gonna do first with your new body?" He asked in genuine curiosity.

Bill was silent. "Hm… not really sure yet." He floated next to Dipper haphazardly, eye on the ground.

Dipper stopped and faced the demon. "You don't seem very happy about getting free from my head, do you?" 

Bill floated past him. "I am." 

That didn't sound convincing, he sighed. "At least try to make it sound honest." After that their conversation plummeted into nothingness except when Bill found another material to use. What was up with him?

He listened to the birds sing and the leaves rustle. Maybe there were other reasons for Bill being less upbeat than he usually was. Demon problems maybe, stuff that Dipper couldn't help with even if he wanted to.

But there must've been reasons why Bill was upset all of the sudden, right? He knew the demon wouldn't want to stay in his head, so why not look forward to having a body? It was a mystery. 

They continued walking in silence. Dipper in his own head and well, Bill in Dipper's head too but in a different way. When they were back near the shack Bill broke the silence. "We should get to training the actual spell." 

Dipper instantly perked up at that. "I'll be starting with magic training?"

"Yes you will. We'll start off with the runes you'll need for the ritual" Bill materialized a sheet of paper in his hand, it had a handful of symbols on it. "This is what you'll inscribe into the crystal. You should get a tool for carving and a few stones for practice."

"Alright!" Dipper sprinted into the shack without further questions, totally on edge about actually doing magic. He went into the basement where Ford stored all kinds of tools, grabbed some that seemed to be adequate and ran back up. Stones weren't too hard to find so within five minutes he was in the backyard of the shack again. 

Bill sat down on the ground and Dipper joined him. "You should try out the tools first, make sure you can work with them and don't stab yourself." He grinned.

"Pfft I think I can manage!" Dipper chose one of the stones and hacked away at them. The results were uneven nicks in the stone. 

"It's not gonna be very readable if you do it like that." 

"I just started out, give me some time at least." He picked another tool and tried with that. Still, wasn't much better. Dipper sighed. 

They spent the whole afternoon like that, slashing away at stones and chatting. 

"I can't wait to finally be able to hit your stupid face!" Dipper grinned, shooting Bill a look. His hands hurt from the rough work which they weren't used to but he couldn't wait for things to fall into place. Bill would be 'real', he himself would have done actual magic and learn how to do a lot more. It sounded insane but exciting.

Bill snorted. "I can't wait to hit you back and make you regret you ever even thought about it!" A fog overcast his eye. He couldn't feel regret. Not now. Not ever. 

Dipper opened his mouth to ask about the sudden change of expression but he swallowed the words back down. Bill wouldn't talk to him about it anyways. 

By dawn, Dipper hadn't gotten clean results yet but he certainly got a lot better. When he held his most recent stone in hand, he felt some sort of energy pulsing in it. Like a heart. "Woah… this is weird… but like, in a stunning kinda way?"

"I bet it is, for you at least. Magic stones aren't very new to me." Bill looked at the stone more closely. "It's not bad but you do need a lot more practice."

It took about a month of Dipper practicing every day for hours. He got blisters all over his hands and several tiny wounds formed but his stones were nearing perfection. The magic flowing through them was palpable. 

"Are we done yet?"

Bill hesitated. "We're done."

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been thinking of just saying “fuck it” and speed editing the chapters from now on to release them faster bc I’m busy with other stuff. This fanfic is already 4 months old and I see so many flaws that would take way too long to try and fix but I also don’t just want to abandon it, it was still genuine hard work-
> 
> A person commented saying that they didn’t really understand what Mabel was, I actually forgot to add in a part to explain it in Chapter 5 but basically she’s a spirit who is able to contact Dipper through his connection to Bill.


	9. Infernal Calling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summoning a demon.

Bill watched as Dipper packed all of the stuff they needed for the ritual into a big backpack. The demon appeared tense. He was tense. Unsure if his decision had been the correct one. It was irrational but he couldn't change it anymore. He wasted his chance. And the sole reason was-

A smiling Dipper interrupted him. "I hope this won't be too much…" He grabbed some chalk and put it into one of the side pockets. 

"Did you read the book about summoning circles I gave you?" 

"Yep! Don't worry I'll get it right with your help." Dipper nodded reassuringly and swung the backpack over his shoulders. "Ugh, this is heavy!" He took a few steps, the wood beneath him creaked in agony. "Okay where do I need to carry this?”

"Down to the river, you know that spot with the huge flat stones? It'll be perfect for drawing with chalk." Bill deliberately avoided Dipper's eyes, he knew the boy could already tell something was off, he couldn't risk it. "Let's get going."

"Sure thing." He stomped downstairs and out of the shack, Bill followed closely behind. Despite knowing he would have to carry what felt like his own body weight all the way to the river, he looked forward to it. His whole body from head to toe tingled in excitement.

As he opened the door, the sun hit his face. Normally he would've groaned, but today wasn't just any day. "I forgot how hot it's supposed to get. Well, fairly mild in comparison to the maximum temperatures of last summer but we'll probably beat those again too…"

"Climate change. Good luck getting that under control." Bill stepped past Dipper, into the light. Although his form wasn't affected by it at all.

"Don't even get me started or I'll have a breakdown right here." And with that Dipper walked into the forest, steps heavy, already covered in sweat. Still excited though.

It didn't take too long for them to arrive at said stones. Dipper put down the backpack and took a deep breath, stretching. He sat on the sun warmed stones and gulped down a considerable amount of water. He couldn't wait to begin. "Where do we start?" 

"We should get out all the items and arrange them before you draw the circle. Then you also need to carve the crystal." 

"Why didn't I just carve it yesterday?"

"Magic fades after a while and yours isn't strong enough yet to hold for a day."

Dipper nodded and got all the objects out of the backpack. Then he arranged them as instructed.

"Switch the book and the coins." Bill watched Dipper but still didn't seem particularly keen to follow through with the ritual. 

"Are you sure you're fine? This is what you want, correct?"

"...yes, why wouldn't I want it?"

"You tell me." With that, Dipper finished placing all of the items. "So the circle, how do I-" 

Before Dipper could end his sentence, Bill had already summoned an outline of it on the stone. It looked like a sketch layer on low opacity except in real life. "... wow that's actually pretty helpful and cool." He started drawing out the lines.

Bill chuckled at that, only Dipper could find hallucination guidelines 'cool'. He inspected the circles and symbols Dipper had drawn out. "Looking good. I can feel the energy flowing through it."

Was that concern in Bill's voice? No, he must've misinterpreted that. "Yeah me too. How does it work?"

"The lines connect the objects and the script gives the magic instructions on how the objects are used. In this case we're using the energy of the objects."

Dipper listened closely. Hopefully he would get to learn more about this later. "That's interesting. So every object has some sort of energy that could be used?"

"Exactly. Every single object has a kind of energy."

"Huh… I wish we got taught stuff like this at school. This is so much more interesting than most subjects to be honest."

"Yeah, you humans have worked out a pretty shitty system for education. Anyways, you need to start carving."

"Right." Dipper took the crystal and sat down. He grabbed the tool he had liked the most when he carved the rocks for practice and began carefully. As the symbols took form, energy radiated from the crystal. "Woah I'm not even halfway done, how is this so strong already?"

"Well, the crystal itself has very powerful energy. The runes are echoing it if you will. This is essentially the main piece of the circle, where most of the energy for the ritual comes from. The other parts are there to guide it and do exactly what you want it to do." 

"I see." Dipper carved away at the crystal with careful hands. Nervous to ruin it on accident. " So what will your human form look like?"

"I don't know, I've never done it like this before. It might just decide on it's own or maybe it'll look like I do right now." 

Dipper looked at Bill, he was human-like but still far from being actually human. "But then how does the eye out of shadows situation work?"

A considerative humm came from Bill, but he turned to stare into the distance without further notice. 

"Hey! Be a bit more upbeat! You usually are and you're gonna have a body soon!" He didn't get what was wrong with the demon, this was what he had wanted and what they had been working towards for a month. And Dipper would really appreciate his work to be valued and not ignored.

"I don't know what you're talking about," was all Bill managed to say to that.

Dipper sighed. "Alright, I won't continue to bother with you." He could be excited for both of them.

After a good half an hour Dipper was finally done with the crystal. It looked very clean and he felt like he was holding a dragon's heart in his hands. "Is this good enough?" 

Bill came over to take a look. "Oh wow, you did a great job on that, kiddo." 

"Thanks!" Dipper smiled at the praise. "So we can get you out of my head now?"

A scoff came from the demon. "Does that mean you want me out? I thought we were more than this!" And then he pouted.

Dipper grinned, shaking his head. "Noo that's not what I meant! I just really wanna slap you!" 

"Don't challenge me, Pine Tree. You'll regret it." He mirrored the grin. "Plus, I really don't think your baby hands can do any damage beyond a tickle!"

"Oh you bet they can! I'll show you!"

"Mhm, I'm sure. You see how much fear I'm in?" Bill was in exactly no fear at all, his eye trained on Dipper, looking very smug. 

"You'll quiver in fear!" He snickered. "Alright but can we get this done? It's way too warm for me, I'm probably gonna get a sunburn and there's dark clouds coming up."

Bill's smugness disappeared as quickly as it had come. "Sure thing. Put the crystal into the middle and I'll activate it."

Dipper stepped over the chalk lines, careful not to smudge them. Then he gently placed down the crystal and made his way back. 

Once Dipper reached the grass, Bill floated over to the middle. Dipper's eyes were fixed on him, curious as to what would happen. Nervous if it would work at all. Hoping he hadn't made mistakes and ended up summoning a fire demon instead.

Bill whispered words in a language Dipper didn't understand but he assumed it was the same one they used for the symbols. They both waited, eyes fixed on the circle. 

"...do you feel anything yet?"

Well, there was something happening. "Sort of… not really…" Bill looked down, almost letting out a sigh but he stopped himself. Why was he relieved? It didn't make any sense. He should be angry or annoyed, not relieved. 

Meanwhile Dipper's head was running over all the possible mistakes he could've made. "Did I do something wrong? Maybe the carving?" No, he had memorized the runes and Bill had a look at the crystal. Bill had picked out the ingredients. Bill had shown him the circle. Bill had instructed him. "I don't understand-" There was no way they could have made a- 

That's when it clicked.

It wasn't Bill's intention for it to work. 

Of course those random things they collected weren't all they had needed.

"You didn't want it to work, did you?" His voice was as sharp as a knife.

He made him do all that work for nothing. Walking in the forest for hours to find some stupid generic flowers. Making him carve for weeks, blisters still evident on his hands. All of that for what? Was this a joke? Did he orchestrate all of this to be funny or to get some sick kick out of it!?

"Dipper it didn't work don't be-" Bill's middle twisted uncomfortably, something must've been wrong with him.

But the boy fumed, his voice strained from anger. "No! I'm not playing your stupid games! Here, you fooled me oh great demon! This isn't funny! Scaring me all the time isn't funny! I shouldn't have believed you, ever!" And he stormed off, running through the foliage, uncaring when twigs slapped him. 

"Dipper wait!"

"Leave me alone!"

By the time he reached his room he broke down, crying. He was foolish to believe he could be friends with a demon. They didn't change. They were evil. Malevolent. Selfish.

He opened his closet and got out the little metal box in which he always kept snacks for bad times like these. He grabbed a candy bar and unwrapped it, his stomach felt empty and there was this throb in his chest. The bar tasted unbearingly sweet, exactly what he needed right now. The caramel and chocolate melted on his tongue and his teeth crushed nuts into tiny pieces.

Dipper felt a bit better but the emptiness stayed so he grabbed another one. And another one. When his hands hit only cold metal he sighed. He got up and opened the door, checking if Ford was anywhere to be seen. He heard occasional noises from downstairs and the pitter patter of rain on the roof, Ford probably corrected papers. 

He snuck into the bathroom as silently as possible to have a look in the mirror. His eyes were a bit puffy but not enough to notice unless you really stared at them and his hair had leaves stuck in it. Dipper made sure he looked a bit more presentable and then headed downstairs to get more sweets.

Ford was already looking his way when he entered the kitchen. "Good afternoon, what did you do all day?"

"Um… I was out in the forest." Dipper's voice sounded croaky but he spoke toned down so it wasn't as noticable. He walked past Ford to the drawer they kept snacks in.

"Oh, good. I had another attempt to talk to Pacifica, the girl I told you about."

He sniffed and grabbed a few chocolates and other candy, shoving it into the pockets of his hoodie. "What did she say this time?"

"She said she didn't think I could do much for her and then she broke down crying. She said her parents had thrown her out when she came out as gay." Ford sighed, swirling a spoon around in his coffee.

"Damn… she must be from a pretty conservative family then?"

"Seems like it. I'll try to talk to them."

Dipper chatted with Ford for a while before heading back upstairs. He felt a bit better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did the ritual not work? Why did Bill not want it to work? Will they ever pbqh ynnou?
> 
> This and much more will be answered in future episodes of I’m Will and I want to juggle 50 projects at the same time but end up doing nothing instead. H.


	10. Prestidigitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seems insignificant but can have a big impact.

Dipper sat in bed, thinking. He'd been awake since way too early and broke his head about what had happened yesterday.

Technically it was Dipper's side of the deal. He failed to give Bill a physical body, not the other way around. If Bill for some reason changed his mind about it, that only affected him and he possessed every right to not want to take up on what Dipper offered him. Then again, why didn't he just say something? The demon made Dipper work so hard on getting the runes right, why would he not just have told him to stop? 

Dipper sighed and rubbed his eyes. It didn't make sense but he should at least apologize to Bill. 

He put on a comfortable shirt and went through his morning routine. When Ford left, he went back to his room. "Bill? If you can hear me, I'd like to talk to you…" 

His room was silent except for the creak coming from his bed when he sat down. What if Bill was angry at him too?

The demon's voice echoed through his head. "I'm here."

Dipper glanced around the room but he couldn't see Bill. It didn't matter as long as he could hear him. "About yesterday, um…" He sighed. "I don't understand why you would give up on my side of the deal but I don't have to. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have flipped out like that." 

"It's fine, you had every reason to. I should've said something to you." Bill paused. But how much should he explain? "Honestly, I liked spending time with you…"

The boy chuckled. "That's why? If you'd just have said that it would've been a lot easier." He smiled, a little light headed. "I enjoyed our time together too though…"

"Well, I was afraid you'd get mad and shut me out or something."

"Yeah I get that." Bill did value him a lot, didn't he? His heart jumped a tiny bit. "You know, it's very irritating to have another voice in your head and not see you anywhere." 

Bill appeared soon after but not in his usual form and Dipper gawked at him.

"I thought I'd still give you magic training though, as a refund for your hard work," the demon said, a bit confused as to why Dipper stared at him in shock. "Oh! I thought it would be fitting to try out the human version of me you drew since we both like it." He did a twirl. "Two eyes are weird to be honest."

"Wow I- you look amazing…" Dipper was taken aback by how well Bill managed to pull off the new look. Two legs, two arms with 5 digit hands that sported sharp nails, a nice suit, more casual than the one he had drawn him in, and a face. _A damn nice face_. Nice as in generally aesthetically pleasing, not anything else, of course. He bit his lip. 

The color of his irises was split by sharp pupils. His skin looked smooth but like it had that sandstone roughness to it. Lips pulled into a grin to reveal pearly white but deadly fangs behind, one of them was golden. 

Bill appreciated the eyes on him, checking out his new form. He was quite proud of how human it looked despite having features which showed his demonic nature. He sat down on the bed next to Dipper, still grinning. "I know I look great but I didn't expect you to lose your mind over it." 

"I'm just- it looks so good? And realistic?" Dipper reached out to touch Bill's hand. His fingers moved over the demon's skin, probing at it. Then they found Bill's nails, hard and pointed. He lifted his hand up, looking at it more closely. "Impressive…"

"Oh, don't flatter me so much, you're making me blush!" Bill clearly wasn't blushing at all, his grin giving away his desire to bathe in flattery all day. "You can hold hands with me later but what do you say about starting magic training now?"

"I'm not holding your ha-" Dipper _was_ technically holding Bills hand. He stood up and let it go. "A-anyways, yeah let's start training." 

The demon chuckled and got up as well. "Sure thing." Then they both headed out of the shack into the backyard. 

"So first things first, for humans it's very hard to learn how to do magic on their own. You need to get a grip on the magical weave that flows around like air but since you can't see it that is very complicated to learn. However, you have the big advantage of having a powerful demon connected to your mind." He grinned, walking away from the shack closer to the tree line. "I can give you access to my powers, making magic a lot easier for you."

"So I'll be casting spells but they use the power you saved?" An uncomfortable feeling found its way to Dipper's stomach. He didn't want to take something away from Bill. Especially something he knew he had to save up for a long time.

"Not exactly, you'll use my power to get a grip on the magic weave, the power for the spell comes from you for the most part. But the more power I have, the more you can easily access and the more powerful spells you can cast." It was cute how Dipper worried about him, endearing really. "And I'm not concerned about you sucking my resources dry, you'll take a long time to get to that level of spell casting."

That was a relief to Dipper. "Good, I don't wanna steal anything from you…"

"I wouldn't offer it if I thought you'll be greedy with it, you're not like that." Bill smiled. "Alright, I'll push some energy over to you, you just get a feel for it. Maybe close your eyes."

Dipper nodded and let his eyelids fall shut. His breath was even and calm.

He felt something. Energy in his hands. Dipper held them up as if to grab on to it. It was like he felt incredibly fragile strings in the air, every single one pulsing. "Woah… I can feel it…" He felt like he should try to use magic and so he moved his hand like one would to throw a ball.

Nothing happened. Dipper stared into the forest for a second, hand still outstretched.

Bill broke out into laughter, he held his stomach as his cackles echoed through the forest. He tried to calm himself but to no avail. Had Dipper just tried to throw magic? What a silly boy.

"Hey this isn't funny! I felt like I should do something with it!" Dipper pouted, and stomped on the grass with his boot.

The laugh calmed down but Bill grinned regardless. "You- you can't just _throw_ magic, Pine Tree! It doesn't work like that!" 

"Well then how _do_ I do it?"

"For humans it's easier if you say a spell but there's no book for that or anything. You basically make up your own but it has to have some sort of meaning that has to do with what you want the outcome to be."

"I see… Can you demonstrate?"

"Of course!" He grinned and turned to a tree, ancient words left his mouth before a bolt of blue fire shot out of his hand into a tree. It went up in flames.

"OH MY GOD YOU CAN'T JUST SET A TREE ON FIRE IT'S SUM-" The tree looked as if it burnt but it stood perfectly still, leaves unbothered by the blaze. "Oh… I see…"

"Pine Tree, I'm flattered to be your God but you can trust me to not start a forest fire! Well, for as long as I'm in your head." 

What a relief. "Sorry, my brain was already playing ways of me trying to explain this to the police and getting arrested…"

"Oh, you're just adorable." Bill grinned at the blush that spread over Dipper's cheeks.

"No I'm not!" The boy looked at the ground sheepishly. "Anyways, so what exactly do I do now?"

"You could try to make the wind pick up, that doesn't seem too hard to me. Just imagine what it would be like, say the spell words you want to use and let it out."

Dipper nodded. He wasn't well versed in any other language than English and especially not any ancient ones, which was honestly kind of sad, but he _did_ memorize all of the Dungeons, Dungeons and more Dungeons spells. 

He closed his eyes and tried to feel for the strands of energy again. Once he had a grip on them, he imagined the wind picking up, how it blew through his curls and Bill's hair. He wondered how it felt. Probably soft. 

That was besides the point he needed to concentrate. 

A sigh left his lips and he opened his eyes. "Gust of Wind!" His hands moved forwards, not to push the air but to guide it. And indeed, he felt a breath of air go past him through Bill's perfect hair. 

"Good! Well done, you're doing great for your first time!" Bill was genuinely excited for him, pride swelled up in his chest.

Dipper couldn't believe it. He had just done magic. He was one of the only people alive who could use it. "I did magic!" He laughed. "This is insane! I could do so many things with this!"

"Yeah like setting chimes in motion." Bill grinned, maybe Dipper was a bit too enthusiastic. "Wait until you can blow things up, that's the real fun part!" 

After a few more hours of attempts to make the gust stronger, Dipper was exhausted and his stomach churned. They went inside but Dipper walked past the kitchen.

"Didn't you say you're hungry?"

"Well yeah but… I don't wanna cook and even if, I wouldn't know what to." 

"You have to eat something, magic is straining and you need some food and rest if you want to continue doing this every day." 

Dipper sighed. "Alright." He scoured through the fridge but couldn't bring himself to cook so he decided on instant ramen again. Not great but better than nothing.

When he finished eating they went into his room and Dipper wrote some notes on his idea with the little girl who keeps a journal on the creatures she hallucinates. Bill started to interview him about her which was actually helpful. Of course he typed down the answers he gave.

"Hold on." Dipper pressed the spacebar but no spaces were added. "Oh great…" He saved the document and restarted the laptop.

"What is it?" Bill leaned over to take a closer look.

"The spacebar isn't working."

"Space bar?" The demon stopped, looking seriously offended."There's a bar in space? Why have I not heard of that!? I should've been invited there!"

Dipper laughed, he didn't think he could be much happier right now.


	11. Foresight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes one knows what is coming.

Whenever Bill wasn't present, Dipper would do research on demons. He was grateful for receiving magic training but it also made him feel like he owed Bill something, which technically he did. And that something being a physical form for him to inhabit. 

Three things could be very useful in this situation; Ford's old books and research, the library in Bill's palace and Bill himself. He avoided the latter at first because he didn't want to disappoint him in case he didn't find a solution, so he stuck to the books.

The library in the palace was a lot easier to access and he could spend hours on end in it without anyone questioning why. Bill had told him he planned to meditate more so Dipper could have access to powerful spells once he got that far and Dipper agreed. He could use his time alone in the library and would possibly need exactly this kind of magic to make his plans work out. 

Obviously, Dipper wouldn't be able to read a large portion of the books but Bill had a solution. He gave him glasses which automatically translated the scripts into English or readable English. Some authors really didn't care if anyone else would ever be able to decipher their works.

The first step was to find all the books that could possibly have anything to do with demons or putting them into bodies. Most of the books were very old and dusty but that could be a good sign. He hoped so at least.

So far, Dipper accumulated a huge pile of books and scrolls that would take him weeks to read so he stopped looking for other ones. The boy plopped down on the couch and opened book after book. Most of them were about how to get a demon _out of_ _your_ body rather than getting a demon _into a_ body. 

Wouldn't they need to have a body to put Bill into one in the first place? But then again, their ritual didn't involve any bodies. Maybe it would've needed one in order to work properly. If so, it wasn't unlikely Bill had decided not to make Dipper get one because he knew that would be too much for him.

He cared about him. Huh…

Another idea popped up, surely there must've been people who tried to make artificial humans once. Homunculi. He would ask Bill later to give him all the books he had on that topic in hopes it wouldn't give his plan away.

During the day he trained with Bill and filed on his story idea. He spent his time reading through Ford's books whenever Bill and him weren't training or talking. He quickly realized that Ford's books were mostly speculative and collections of things from other books, some of which he had seen in Bill's library. He also had a hard time sorting them back in.

Over the next couple of nights all Dipper did was read a ton of books. A lot of the books this far were completely useless to him, sad but there wasn't a way around it. 

However, while pacing through the library in thought, he stumbled upon a tome written by a witch about how to transfer souls and even revive people that had died too early. It caught his interest immediately so he grabbed it and sat down on the ground, uncaring about being comfortable at the moment. This could prove to be very helpful.

It was in detail about how the body's vitality would have to be like. Obviously you couldn't shove a soul into a body that had just bled out or was killed by an illness for instance. You had to heal it first to the point where it would be inhabitable again. This book would come in very handy so he put it to the side. He pushed the thought of needing a body for it to work to the side for now.

One night, Bill decided to spend some time with Dipper, he appeared right next to him on the couch.

Dipper jumped at the sudden visit, shutting the book he read and letting out a sigh when he realized it was just Bill. "You need to stop just appearing or I'll have a heart attack!" He was a bit annoyed by it but he had a genuine smile on his face anyways.

"How do I do it then? Appear slowly?"

The boy chuckled at the idea of Bill fading into his vision like that bad windows movie maker effect. "No, appear somewhere I can't see you and then walk to me like people would."

"Yeah I suppose I could try that." 

Something about Bill's grin told him that he wasn't too keen on trying. Teasing Dipper was too much fun.

"So, what are you reading?"

"Oh it's nothing too interesting, I was just deciding if I wanted to put it away." He slid the book off the side of his lap where it was harder for Bill to reach. "I have a few questions actually, could you sort out books about homunculi for me? I was thinking maybe the story I'm writing would have something to do with that."

"Sure. Is the little girl gonna be some sort of necromancer?" He grinned. "Would certainly be a fresh concept."

Dipper snorted. "No, not exactly. Um, also, what was that about that monument you wanted me to find? The one the hallucinations are running away from? You just sort of didn't bring it up again and I was curious." 

"It's… a statue. Where my powers are locked. If you're thinking about going there because of the deal we made,  _ don't _ . I know now that it won't be worth it and it's dangerous."

Dipper needed to go there. Maybe there was a way to free Bill's powers and make this a lot easier. "Alright I won't… What would happen if your powers weren't locked anymore?" He changed the topic quickly in hopes Bill wouldn't pick out his lie.

"Well, I might be able to leave your mind and get myself into the physical world on my own but I have no idea how we would even try to unlock them in the first place."

That seemed promising enough.

Another day, Dipper was writing in his room when Ford came in. "Have you gone through my books? If so, why?" He didn't seem angry or upset, just curious.

"I'm working on this story and it has to do with all kinds of supernatural things. I just thought your research might help with it." That wasn't all a lie to be honest. His research did give him a ton of inspiration for his story.

However, Ford didn't seem very convinced. "Why did you not just ask me then?"

Dipper swallowed. "Well… you're so busy with school work and I didn't want to put more on you do I decided to do it on my own."

Ford nodded with a smile. "Alright, but just ask next time."

"Okay." Dipper smiled at Ford before he left the room and a sigh escaped him.

When the sun fell, Dipper went to bed. He had done enough research the last couple of days so he was set on just exploring the palace and maybe asking Bill for a dream. 

When his eyes opened he found himself in front of the gigantic palace in all its glory. He went inside and walked up the broad stairs which he assumed led to a throne room of sorts. When he reached the top, the heavy doors opened by themselves, revealing a huge room held up by golden columns behind it. On each side were tanks that filled the entire length from the door to the opposite end of the room.

He stepped inside, gawking at the lavish architecture and the alien fish and corals inside the tanks. This room definitely wasn't affordable to anyone alive. He walked further into the room, turning around to take everything in. 

About halfway through the length of the room he stopped to go look at the aquarium more closely. Dipper went to touch the glass but despite his expectations his fingers slipped right into the lukewarm water. It didn't seem to be separated from the air in any way, it held its shape. A curious fish went to nibble on his finger, it tickled 

"Hey!" He chuckled and pulled his hand out, wiping it on his clothes but to his surprise they were completely dry already. "This is so cool…" 

Dipper turned away from the fish, heading back to the carpet that led to the focal point of the room, the throne. Golden and black, laced with gems of all kinds, up on several steps to overlook the whole room. On it sat Bill, an unnerving grin on his lips. Behind him, the universe.

"Welcome to the throne room, have a seat."

He glanced around but his memory hadn't failed him. "Bill, there are no other chairs."

"Well you're a smart boy, you'll figure something out."

He  _ could _ sit down on the floor and have to look up to Bill the whole time like he was some slave and he was certainly not going to do that. And then the other option… 

Dipper climbed up the stairs, flashing a smug smirk at Bill's surprised face as he sat down on his lap. "You have a god complex."

"You called me your God that one time, this is entirely your doing. You've created a monster, Pine Tree." He grinned, his hand finding Dipper's curls. His own fault for blatantly sitting on him. "So, no reading today?"

Dipper flinched at the hand combing through his hair, he wasn't used to but it was… nice… in a way. "Um, no. I've read so much over the last couple of days I think I could use a break." 

Bill gently scraped at Dipper's scalp with his nails, making the boy lean into his touch subconsciously. The demon chuckled. "You humans are so touch starved these days…"

Dipper felt his face heat up slightly but he didn't say anything. They sat in silence for a while. "You said you're a dream demon, correct?" 

"Yep. You want me to make a dream for you?"

Dipper smiled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE DOUBLE UPLOAD WHEEE!
> 
> The next chapter is gay but there’s a catch.


	12. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams do not last forever.

Dipper found himself stranded on an island with flora so beautiful his jaw hung slack.

Around the isle wasn't the ocean, against all laws of physics, it was surrounded by the sky. His feet pushed into the soft grass as he ran to the edge, pulse heightening as he peered over it. He knew who'd catch him if he fell.

It was a bit disappointing that Bill hadn't joined him but he probably busied himself with making the dream so whatever.

Dipper took off to explore the floating piece of rock he stood on. It didn't appear too big but was big enough to grow a tiny tropical jungle on it. Everything looked like it came straight out of a video game. All the colors matched up perfectly and Dipper's eyes couldn't get enough of it. The plants shone in fresh green with spots of pink, purple and blue, weaving around trees of awesome size.

The unsettling smoke in the corners of his vision was promptly disregarded. Eh, was probably just Bill trying to mess with him. Seemed accurate for him.

Through the foliage led a path of cobblestone, smooth as his feet touched it. Speaking of, Dipper's feet were bare and he wore a poet's shirt. He chuckled when it hit him, those were the old times blouses Bill had rambled to him about a while back. This one probably wasn't historically accurate though, the fabric being too soft and light. Other than the shirt, he wore fairly simple pants that went great with the top and a belt that looped around his waist twice.

It was sort of funny to think about how this supposedly 'evil' demon orchestrated a dream like this for him, with all those tiny details. Dipper made his way to the other end of the isle and it didn't disappoint. A galley floated close to the edge, halting at a small wooden dock on the island. On the deck stood Bill.

"Oi Pine Tree, get yer ass up 'ere!" He grinned and waved as he pulled off the most stereotypical pirate accent. Bossing people around would never get old.

Dipper laughed at that. "Aye aye, captain!" He ran to the dock and stopped to look at the ship. She was a beauty, dark chocolate wood met with golden embellishments everywhere, gems embedded into it. She would go great with the palace. 

He walked onto the deck which sprouted three strong masts, all with colored and patterned sails. The sides of the ship possessed fan-like wings, the one on the side the isle was on retracted to not collide with the rock. He gawked in awe, always wanting to have seen an old style ship like that one. Although he didn't exactly expect it to be floating. "This is amazing…" 

"I thought you might like something like this." Bill strode over to him, his shoes rewarding them with a pleasant sound when they hit the wood. 

He sported a heavy coat with golden rims, underneath a vest with fancy patterns and a shirt similar to the one Dipper wore but less loose. Around his hips hung several belts with pouches and Dipper could only assume there to be a gun and a sword, probably several other weapons hidden beneath the coat. He looked like a proud captain. Of course he would.

"You're missing a hat but other than that, you look great!" Dipper smiled. "But I do feel a bit underdressed next to you, I don't even have shoes."

"You don't look bad yourself." He grinned and with a snap of his fingers Dipper had shoes and long pants. "Do you want a vest too? I thought you'd be more comfortable without one."

Dipper chuckled and felt a bit light headed at the compliment. "No it's fine, this is nice." He hated dress shirts, vests and anything of the kind. They were restricting and Dipper preferred comfort over style.

"So, what do you say to a tour of the ship?" 

The boy nodded excitedly at that and so they went off to explore her. Bill showed him all the rooms on all of the decks but the one Dipper liked most was the captain's quarters. It had big windows, a desk with bookshelves that were arranged so the books wouldn't fall out and a huge bed which Dipper couldn't resist to fling himself on.

"Can we just stay here? This is so much better than the real world…" His voice was muffled by pillows before he turned to his side.

"Reality is an illusion, kid. Who's to say this isn't real?"

"Hm… true." 

"You can't stay here though, your body would die of dehydration at some point and then you'd meet Death again."

Dipper sighed and poised himself up, disappointed that he had to return to the harsh world he came from.

The ship must've taken off at one point because the island was disappearing in the distant clouds of dawn. 

"Let's go back outside, the stars will be up soon." Bill offered Dipper a hand. It pulled him away from his depressing thoughts with a singular motion and guided him outside.

They stood near the railing, Dipper's hand entwined with Bills. It held a sense of security. He only let go when he was sure the world wouldn't crumble and fall apart without it.

The stars started to stretch out above when the sunlight slowly faded under the clouds. They were so bright and vivid.

"Look, it's you." Bill pointed at Ursa Mayor ahead. The Big Dipper was visible in all its glory.

"And that's you." Dipper pointed at the Triangulum constellation. 

Bill looked surprised. "Yeah, that's true."

"I have pretty good knowledge of the stars." Dipper smiled. Looking at the stars above, ahead, all around, he felt free. Like he could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. 

The crow's nest fell into his view. "Race you to the top!" He shouted before sprinting off and climbing the ropes.

"Don't think you can beat me!" Bill grinned and followed Dipper.

The boy glanced down only to find Bill caught up fast. He didn't feel afraid of the height. "You may be a demon but a very slow one!" His hands grabbed onto the rope hastily and he yanked and pushed himself upwards even faster. Until he slipped.

Adrenaline rushed through him and a scream cooked up in his throat but before he could even think about what had happened, he stopped mid air.

"Careful what you say to your captain when you want him to catch you!" Bill grinned, with a motion of his hand Dipper floated up into the crow's nest.

He sighed when his feet touched the wood.

Bill soon joined him, still grinning and Dipper broke out into laughter. "M-maybe- maybe the race you to the- the top wasn't a great idea." His voice was torn by his laugh.

The demon couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't do that again or I just might let you fall."

"Rude!" Dipper smiled as he looked up at the vast expanse of stars, inhaling the fresh air that blew through his hair, then exhaling. He looked at Bill whose smile faded despite looking at the same sky.

Bill was startled when the boy wrapped his arms around him, with his chin on Bill's chest, on his lips was a sweet smile. "Thank you… for everything."

"I…," Bill started but he didn't know what to say so instead he just returned the hug. Something in him wanted to stay like this, pull Dipper even closer, but he knew it wasn't a good idea. He couldn't let a human close to himself, he knew where it would end. And it was likely Dipper barely even considered him a friend, he was a demon after all. He didn't have the right to hold Dipper like this after all he had done. Guilt gnawed at him like a hungry pack of wolves.

Then, Dipper woke up in his bed, a pillow between his arms. He sighed, wanting to stay in the comfortable warmth but he had plans.

In order to get Bill into a body, it would be worth a shot to investigate the monument Bill's power was locked into. Maybe he could connect with it in some way. 

He put on fresh clothes that were fit for the summer warmth. It wasn't unbearably hot outside yet since it was only June but he was going to walk through the forest for a considerable amount of time. He took a look outside and noticed it was probably already midday. 

Ford stopped him when he walked past the kitchen. "Morning Dipper, you've slept in quite a bit do you still want to eat? I made pasta for lunch."

"No thanks, I'm not hungry yet. Um, I might be a while. Going into the forest."

"Sure, have fun."

And with that, Dipper left the shack, vanishing between trees. Honestly, the temperature was nicer than Dipper thought. Leaves shielded him from the sun and a gentle wind blew past him. The forest stood in all it's beauty, wild flowers blossoming and birds chirping. 

After a good amount of time, rabbits ran past him again. He thought they were just normal ones at first but at second glance they left behind no traces on the ground. Right, he was going to have to deal with that.

The forest got darker the deeper he went, the light from above dimmed and chills ran down his spine. The trees watched him, birches specifically. They already looked like they had eyes in a normal state but now the irises even followed him. He needed to keep going.

A dark mist surrounded Dipper with eyes peering from all sides. He heard distant screams and laughter. His own eyes bolted around. In search of the source of the noises. Normally he would've ran back by now, but he owed this to Bill and so he continued to walk. 

That's when a growl came from right in front of him, in the mist. Two eyes were visible, coming closer. Dipper froze.  _ He needed to leave. _

Out of the mist came a wolf made from shadows. It bared its sharp teeth, stalking closer. 

Dipper's heart raced and his thoughts screamed to run. It wasn't real. It couldn't hurt him. He was fine. He needed to do this. For Bill. 

And he kept going.

The wolf barked at him but stayed at a distance, always at the edge of the mist, his whole body froze up, legs pulsating. 

More wolves joined. Howling and barking, furious. Eager to tear into his flesh with each step.

Dipper's muscles tensed. All of them. He was so terrified he couldn't even blink. His legs dug into the ground, ready.

He ran. 

But not back, he ran forward. For Bill. To give him what he had promised.

He ran, uncaring if twigs slapped his face or thorns scraped his legs. This was important.

Dipper ran until he broke through the dark mist. He found himself in a clearing, the soft light of the afternoon shone on the stone statue. A statue of Bill. It was his triangular form, the one he had hallucinated about years ago. The one that had caused the apocalypse in his head. But that hadn't been Bill's fault. 

His hand was outstretched. This was it. He probably just needed to shake it 

He now noticed how bad his head hurt, the adrenaline had probably overplayed it earlier but now it throbbed like he had broken his skull open. "Ah… damn…"

He couldn't faint now, he was in the middle of the forest and so close to the statue. Dipper approached, slowly, step by step. His legs collapsed underneath him and his hands grabbed moss. 

He just couldn't give up now, crawling to the statue. Almost there. Just a little more.

Hot fluid dribbled from his nose, staining the moss in a deep red. 

_ Almost _ .

Meanwhile in the palace, Bill meditated. Not paying attention to impulses from the outside. That is, until he felt pain coming from Dipper. It was strong enough for him to notice and he got up to check on the kid. 

Hopefully nothing too serious. Maybe he just fell downstairs? No, that couldn't be it, Bill knew exactly what that felt like.

With the pain came another sensation. Was he… gaining energy? 

It felt good. It felt so,  _ so  _ good that he forgot everything else for a second. He wanted to bathe in energy, absorb all of it. More and more and-

Dipper. 

_ Dipper was in danger. _

The demon snapped into Dipper's head. 

"Dipper what is-"

Dipper laid on the ground, holding out his hand to the statue of Bill.

Everything seemed to freeze for a second and if he had a heart it would've skipped in panic. 

"NO DON'T-" 

It was too late.

Dipper's finger hit the sun warmed stone and a scream ripped from his throat as pure agony seared up his finger.

His body went limp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehehehe.


	13. Dominate Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A safety measure.

An intense amount of energy surged through Bill and he would've laughed in joy if it wasn't for his Pine Tree's pain. 

What to do now? What to do? If Dipper's body stayed there for much longer he might die. But what could he do about it?

An idea hit him and it just might work.

He leapt into Dipper's mindscape, a vast forest with doors sitting on the trees. 

Everything was shaking, the forest on fire. The earth itself cracked open. This wasn't good. Panic hit him like a bullet. If he wasn't fast enough, then this was it. 

Bill just needed to find the door. He darted into the forest at lightning speed, doors rattling when he passed. 

No. No. No. Not the one. Not this one either. No. No.

But wait! He skittered to a halt.  _ This _ door. His hand wrapped around the doorknob and turned. It was locked. Obviously. 

"Sorry to invade you like this but it's better than dying!" And with that, he aimed his fingers at the lock and blasted open the whole door with a laser beam. "Maybe a bit overkill but it works." 

Behind the door, everything was dark but Bill entered regardless. It wasn't as easy as going into a normal dark room, no. Bill had to force his way in. It was like pushing through thick black foam. Suffocating. Luckily, he gained energy rapidly, therefore burning a huge amount of it to be able to get through was no issue.

Pain greeted him immediately.

"Agh- dammit Pine Tree-" He opened his, no, Dipper's eyes. His vision was blurry but he knew where he was. Something hot dribbled from his nose, he wiped it away, uncaring at the moment.

Everything hurt, his feet, his legs, his torso, his arms. Foremost, his head. Dipper's head.

After struggling to control the boy's limbs he finally managed to get himself sat up. "I need to get you away from here-" He coughed, his lungs screamed. There was blood on his hand. Adrenaline consumed him. " _ Fast _ ." 

Bill carefully put weight on his legs. They were very wobbly but he would have to get used to that. He stumbled away from the statue, into the forest. Tripping a couple of times while gurgling up red liquid. Any moment longer and Dipper would have been a goner. And Bill himself would probably have been too.

Some of the pain faded the further he walked. Once it was bearable, he leaned against a tree to catch his breath. This wasn't far enough yet. He could slowly see better and moved on. "Seriously kid, that was stupid…"

Bill knew these woods better than anyone and he had no trouble navigating to where the shack stood. On the way, he kept wiping his nose until it stopped bleeding. Finally.

Man, meatsacks were annoying.

It was still a 20 minute walk, for Dipper who had been using his legs since he was a child. For Bill, who has had legs on and off, it would definitely take a lot longer. His open wounds, mostly internal, didn't help either. All of his torso and his head felt as if somebody tried digging out his organs, shoved them into a blender and then back into his body. 

Okay no, that sounded _ a lot _ more fun than what was happening here.

Time for some healing.

He sat down, focusing his magic on the places most fatal. His brain, his lungs, his guts. Ancient words left Bill's, Dipper's, lips and he felt better. The pain receded. Thankfully.

Bill got up after finishing healing Dipper's body and it took around an hour of walking on unstable legs, which gave away a few times, until he finally saw the shack. 

"Oh, it is good to be back." he whispered in nostalgia. This time he really meant it. 

He threw open the door, not exactly used to how much power was required and hey; the door was open now so it did what he wanted it to do. Two steps in and Ford eyed him from the kitchen with a pan in hand. It smelled nice and his stomach growled.

"Dipper you look beaten up, where were-  _ is that blood _ ?" The old man frowned at him, confused and concerned. Maybe a tinge unsettled.

"Oh don't worry Fordsy, just a nosebleed." He grinned, waving it off. "A very heavy one."

"Alright?" Ford gave him a questioning look at the nickname. "I was going to tell you about the meeting I have scheduled with the family of the girl I wa-"

"The Northwest's, yeah got it. Sorry kid, have important business to take care of." 

The old man squinted at him. Bill totally didn't get why, his acting was  _ impeccable. _ Seriously, he deserved an Oscar. More like eight if he was being honest.

But how to fix this situation?

Do something Dipper would do.

He walked over to the snack drawer and picked out a chocolate bar. In a swift motion he ripped open the wrapper with his teeth, spat it out and pushed the bar into his mouth, whole, which triggered his gag reflex but Bill only found that amusing. He grinned, chewing on it with his mouth half open and biting his tongue, which drew a giggle out of him. Then, he left the room and almost tripped over his feet.

Bill handled that perfectly.

He dragged himself upstairs, resisted the urge to throw himself down for Dipper's sake and flung himself into bed instead. He doubted Dipper would want him to undress. 

The demon healed the body up almost completely. The kid should be able to handle this, he did deserve it for being so stupid. Stupid and cute. Stupid, cute and about to get a lecture.

He let himself drift into the dreamscape.

Bill came to be in the master bedroom of the palace and it wasn't very hard to find Dipper, reading in the library. The kid would get a piece of his mind for going against him and risking his life like that. What had he been thinking?

"What were you trying to do out there, kid!?" The demon shouted, his fury about the situation coming back. 

Dipper looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "I was just trying to get you a bod-"

"You almost got yourself  _ killed _ ! I had to forcefully  _ take over your body _ and drag you back to the shack!  _ Do you realize how risky this was!? _ If I didn't get in there instantly you would've been  _ dead _ by now!"

"I-I'm sorry I just wanted to help you. I didn't think there would be consequences like this..." Dipper looked like a mess, he felt terrible about it. He put himself in danger and Bill had to step in and rescue him. He was on the verge of crying.

The demon got slightly more soft spoken when he noticed Dipper's teary eyes. "Promise me to  _ never _ do that again," Bill said with a stern look on his face.

"I-I promise-" Dipper tried his hardest not to cry.

Bill ached at the sight of it and he opened his arms. He had been very loud but he needed his point to get across.

When Dipper accepted the hug, the demon placed his hand into his curls. "If you had said something I could've told you it was a bad idea…" He stroked through his hair in a gentle manner.

"I know but… but I wanted to help- I couldn't just do nothing… I owe you…"

"You don't owe me anything, I don't care about the deals anymore. I'm never gonna get a body again." He was saying this to himself more so than to Dipper. It stung to hear.

"Is there really no way…?"

"Well, if you had touched the statue long enough I would've gotten enough power to make one from scratch… but you would've died for sure…"

Bill had given up his goal. His goals. To save Dipper's life. Dipper owed him his life. He couldn't believe Bill proved to be so caring but his heart warmed up at the thought. He sniffed and wiped his tears away. "Thank you… I could probably not even be mad at you if you let me die and got your body… I'm so stupid and-"

"Shh… you're not stupid." The demon's hand combed his hair calmingly. "You just wanted to help, it's alright now. We can't change the way things went. It's alright."

Back in the physical world, Dipper was dirty, bloodied and very sore so he had taken a shower while Bill waited on the bed.

Dipper went back into his room in underwear and an open flannel, his curls were wet and Bill felt his eyes drawn to him. Obviously he picked up on that and sheepishly eyed the ground while fishing for socks in his drawer. He ended up sitting on his bed to actually put them on.

Suddenly, Dipper stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait, how exactly did you get me back here?" 

"Basically, I entered your brain, don't ask how, it's complicated, and took over the steering wheel. Possession, if you will. I know the forest well, so getting back here was no issue. May have ran into Fordsy but he doesn't suspect  _ a thing _ ! I got you back here in one piece, that's all that matters."

Dipper sighed. Somehow he couldn't really believe the Ford part. "Okay… thanks."

"No problem, Pine Tree." Bill couldn't resist so he put an arm around Dipper who let out a soft sigh. "I'm glad you're not dead, you know?"

"I'm glad you're still with me after all the trouble I've caused you." Dipper smiled at the demon. 

They just sat like that for a while until Bill started to grin and Dipper pulled up a brow.

"How comes Dipper rhymes with stripper?"

"Wh- what!? What does that have to do with anything? Dipper isn't even my name." He felt heat rise into his cheeks at the implication. 

"So you're saying it's your stripper name then? I see how it is." Dipper was a fun one to tease.

"Shut up!" Dipper said firmly but a smile grew on his lips. He didn't get the demon sometimes. Most of the time actually. He was a weird one. Maybe fairly normal for a demon but weird to Dipper. He liked him for it.

Bill's hand found its way back into Dipper's hair and the boy couldn't complain. In fact, he very much enjoyed it. It was calming. But he did wonder one thing. "How does the whole feeling your touch thing work with physics? Like what if I sat down on your… lap for example?"

"You'd sit  _ in _ my legs unless I wanted to bring up enough energy to make you float. But you can sit on my lap in the dreamscape all you want." Bill grinned, nudging Dipper's side.

Dipper averted his gaze at the memory of sitting on Bill in the palace throne room. "Um… interesting."

A voice echoed from downstairs. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Oh, I almost forgot it's Ford's birthday today! I gotta go congratulate him!"

Bill pouted but complied, letting Dipper go.

Dipper got fully dressed, brushed his teeth more or less haphazardly and ran into the kitchen. "Happy Birthday!" He went to hug Ford, careful not to get burned by the pan in his hand.

"Thank you. Be careful though I do not want to drive you to the hospital today." He smiled and returned the hug briefly with one arm. They weren't big on hugs but they couldn't let Mabel's legacy down like this so they were exclusive to birthdays.

They both took a seat at the table and dug into the pancakes. "These are really good." 

"I was trying to figure out the perfect recipe yesterday but you missed most of it."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that I was exhausted."

"It's alright, I'm glad you're having fun in the forest. Was your nose alright?"

"My no-? Oh uh- yeah. I tripped and fell, I'm clumsy sometimes." Wow Dipper, you sure are convincing.

Ford chuckled. "I've had my fair share of forest nosebleeds as well." His expression turned more serious. "But I'd advise you to be careful, I think something may be wrong. I went to take a walk before I cooked and it was dead silent out there."

That did sound odd and now that he paid attention to it, he couldn't hear a single bird chirping outside. "Alright, I'll be careful."

Dipper was pretty sure he would be fine. He did respect Ford's warnings but he was capable of doing magic now, whatever the reason for the silence was, it couldn't be too dangerous. When they were both done eating, Dipper collected the dishes and Ford headed to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, this was probably one of the most chapters for me to write and I’m pretty happy with it.


	14. Legend Lore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people cannot have too much information.

"When do you want to start training today?" Asked Bill, sitting on the kitchen counter, legs dangling off in a playful manner. 

"We can start right now." Dipper finished sorting the dishes into the dishwasher and shut it. "I'll fill up a bottle, I don't wanna get fried out there." The sun had been getting more and more relentless recently. Going out without something to drink could be considered a suicide attempt.

"If the sun dares to fry you I'm going to fight her. She's got nothing on me." Bill grinned, eyes laying on Dipper who poured water into a small bottle and snorted at the comment.

He rolled his eyes but smiled. "I'm sure the sun will be quivering and begging for mercy."

"She'd better or humanity needs to find a new star very fast."

Dipper could only shake his head. 

Once they found a spot in the shadows outside, Bill summoned a thick tome. He flipped through pages upon pages, brows furrowing. "Hm… maybe this is still too complicated…"

"What is it?" Dipper snuck around Bill to see the text, sighing when he realized he couldn't read that language. Anatomical drawings decorated the pages and for a second Dipper thought he might learn how to create a homunculus for Bill.

"Healing magic, I thought it might be useful to you if you ever encounter danger when I'm not present." His words were pointed but he meant well, a lopsided grin on his lips. He truthfully didn't want to have the kid hurt. The thought of what happened after touching the statue made his stomach twist. And this wasn't the only thing Dipper had gone through because of the demon.

Not as exciting as Dipper had thought but healing sounded great. No more paper cuts, no more sore muscles and potentially no more annoying colds. "I want to try at least, if it's too hard then we can do something else."

"Alright then." Bill took a seat, gesturing for Dipper to do the same. He placed the tome next to himself. "Pick a flower."

"Huh? Oh you mean-" Dipper picked a flower from the patch close to him, holding it gently between two fingers as he sat down.

"Yes, now break it's stem."

"Okay?" He did as Bill instructed. "And now?"

"Well, you know how flowers are constructed, right?" Bill slid the tome over, on the page was an anatomical sketch depicting the inside of a flower stem. "Healing is very complicated because you need to know the anatomy of the thing you're healing. Otherwise… well you'd end up doing more damage than there was in the first place."

"Wow, what a rip off. Every show and book  _ ever _ presents it as the easiest thing; 'put your hand on it and it lives.'"

"That's just how it is in this world. Told you it won't be easy."

Dipper studied the flower and the tear in its stem, understanding how it worked and taking a sip from his bottle every now and again. "So, how do I heal it?"

"Pretty much the same way you use other magic."

"Wow thanks Bill, great help." He said in a flat tone but Bill shot back a grin. "Whatever, I'll just try it."

He closed his eyes and focused on himself and the flower, feeling the delicate strings of the magical weave in his fingertips. Then, he opened them again to make sure the torn parts of the stem were touching each other. "Cure wounds." 

Dipper didn't see anything happen. "...Did it work?" 

Obviously, this would be too hard for a beginner, it had taken Bill ages to learn how to heal. "It's fine, healing takes a lot of time to learn and-"

Dipper tugged on both ends of the stem. They stayed together. He gasped.

There was no way. The demon scrambled over to take a closer look. "What? I've never seen anyone manage it this quickly- how did you do that?" Even Bill was in awe.

"I- I don't know? It just worked… somehow?" 

"That's really impressive, kid. Maybe you have an affinity for healing magic." Bill looked genuinely happy for Dipper. "I didn't know my Pine Tree was a natural magician." 

_ My Pine Tree _ , Bill's words echoed in Dipper's head. Was he  _ his _ Pine Tree? Was he that special to Bill? He coughed awkwardly, blaming his hot face on the temperature. "I guess I might have an affinity for it then? I mean I don't know how it works, so…" He brought the bottle up to his lips but he found it empty. "I should've taken a bigger one..." 

Dipper got on his feet but Bill interrupted him. "Actually why don't you solve that with magic?"

"Huh, sure." He sat back down into the soft grass.

Over the next hour Bill taught Dipper how to create water. However, it took him 10 minutes to produce 10 millilitres and his throat was getting dry. "Can we take a break? I'll just get some water and my sketchbook."

"I'll be waiting."

Dipper ran into the shack, not wanting to make the demon wait for too long. He grabbed a bigger bottle as well as his sketchbook and it wasn't long until he sat against a tree next to Bill. 

"What are you gonna draw?" Bill's shoulder was touching his and he eyed the blank page. 

"Hm… Maybe you?" Dipper chewed on his pen, thinking of a pose. Then he remembered when Bill showed him the fire bolt and he had freaked out. A smile tugged on his lips and his pen started leaving marks on the paper. 

At first it was a simple line and some basic shapes, but then a body started to form. The face, hair, hands. Ugh, hands…

"...Am I naked? I mean, I'm flattered-"

"You're not naked! I'm adding the clothes in a bit!" Squealed a flushed Dipper.

"Mhm, sure." Bill grinned. That earned the demon a shove. "You wanna fight?" He knew from experience how ticklish Dipper was and his hands found the sensitive spots with ease.

"H-hey! Ha- no stop!" Dipper pushed at Bill, laughing. "You're- no fair!" He grabbed Bill's hands with his but soon found them pinned to the tree behind him, the demon straddled him. He panted, gazing at two gorgeous eyes.

And they looked back into eyes as sweet as chocolate. "What are you gonna do now, Pines?" Bill said with less vigor than usually, his grin formed into something more subtle. This was wrong. Oh this was  _ so _ wrong. But a part of him needed it.

Dipper's heart hammered against his chest and his stomach fluttered. "I… I don't know…" 

He could do nothing but stare at the handsome face which closed in on his.

"Hello? I have a delivery from Wizards of the Coast for uh… Stanford Pines," an unfamiliar voice called from the front entrance of the shack, a man in uniform came around the corner, package in hand. 

Bill vanished and Dipper was left startled. Did Bill just… try to kiss him? He felt giddy at the thought but no, there was no way. He wouldn't do something like that.

It didn't matter, he still needed to answer the mailman. "Yeah- Um, I'll take it." He picked up his sketchbook and the pen that must've slipped out of his hands at one point, rushing to the delivery man.

Once Dipper put the box inside the shack, Bill reappeared as if nothing had happened. "I want to show you something by the by, it just came to my mind."

"U-um… sure?" His heart skipped a beat thinking of what might have happened if they didn't get interrupted. No, it must've been a misunderstanding. There was no way Bill would do something like that. Especially not with someone like him. Thankfully, his growling stomach broke through his string of thoughts. 

"You should eat something first."

"No, it's fine. I wouldn't know what to eat anyways."

"Dipper, you need to eat," Bill said with a stern look. "You make some sandwiches and then I bring you to the special place."

Dipper hesitated. "Alright fine." He held out his hand to shake Bill's, confused when he didn't lift his.

"Not like a deal, I think we're beyond that." Bill would feel even more guilty accepting deals now, after all he had done to the kid.

Huh.

So, Dipper made some sandwiches and he ate one straight away. Honestly, he was kind of glad Bill made him eat. They didn't turn out bad either.

The both of them walked off into the woods. Beneath them were surprisingly many flowers, colorful as ever. White, pink, blue, yellow. Bill picked a yellow one. 

"Vancouveria Chrysantha, I like them."

The flower looked as if it's head sat backwards on the stem. Dipper chuckled. Of course Bill liked the weird and the yellow. "Is it your favorite or do you just like them though?"

"Hm… I don't really pick favorites." He paused, placing the flower into Dipper's hair and grinning proudly. "Except for humans!" 

"I um… thanks?" Did Bill even mean him? No, there was probably someone out there more interesting than him. Definitely. Now he felt awkward for having thanked him in the first place. 

"What's your favorite flower?"

"I haven't really thought about it but I like most blue wildflowers." Dipper pushed his hair out of his face when his fingers brushed against the flower. His brain caught up with him. 

"Wait, how did you even do that?" Bill only grinned at him. "You didn't just waste your energy to put a flower in my hair, did you?"

The demon shrugged. "Maybe."

Dipper snorted and shook his head. "I can't believe you did that."

"Well, you'd best start believing! Oh look, we're almost there." He pointed at a cliff looming over them through the trees. 

That was sort of underwhelming. Dipper had imagined something less rocky. 

Bill walked to the wall of stone, then followed it. Dipper blinked and suddenly Bill was gone. "Wha- Bill!?" He looked around himself, his body tense.

"I'm in here!" His voice had a deep echo to it.

Dipper sighed in relief and walked a few more steps until he noticed a crack in the stones, big enough for a tall adult to press through. He wasn't tall so he fit right in. "Um… are you sure this is safe?"

"Sure as can be! In my universe this cave was used by humans for ages and it had paintings of me all over, Fordsy discovered them."

"Your ego must've loved that."

"Sure did. Makes me wonder what happened to this universe's version of me though."

"Maybe there is none?"

"Possible."

Dipper sat down on cool rocks and started to eat. The cave was actually a nice temperature compared to the outside. "So the other Ford, what was he like?"

"He was a lot more paranoid than your Ford, probably because he actually dealt with all sorts of supernatural beings, including me. He also had a huge fight with Stan when they were younger and basically got shoved into a multi-dimensional portal he built."

A multi-dimensional portal? He swore he heard of that before. "That's… a lot." Then it came back to him. When he had the most vivid hallucinations, making him think the world was ending, he remembered it having something to do with some portal. Odd.

"It was a whole mess, let me tell you."

"I believe you, sounds like a big mess." Dipper finished a sandwich and looked at Bill. "Do you think we should tell Ford about you and magic and stuff?"

"I'm not sure how your Ford ticks so it's up to you. He did hate me in the other universe but yours doesn't know me."

"He hated you?"

"It's… a long story for another time."

Dipper sighed, he wanted to tell Ford all of his studies were correct and the supernatural was real but he didn't want to risk putting Bill in danger either. "I guess we don't tell him. We can still do it later if we feel like it." He looked at his phone to check the time. "Let's go home, I don't want to explain to him why I went into the forest."

And with that, they made their way back. 

Dipper couldn't stop thinking about that handsome face closing in on his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’ve crossed the half way point! If you’re missing more plot, don’t worry heHE-


	15. Scorching Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It catches and spreads.

"We're almost there." Ford walked ahead of Dipper as they made their way through the woods. The boy recognized where they were, the river with the flat stones burbled nearby. It was a hot day but luckily clouds blocked some of the sunlight. Around them, song birds chirped their day away and the air smelled faintly of ash. 

Dipper had been woken up by his great uncle in the afternoon. Ford told him he found something weird in the forest and he needed to show him. He'd said it was “exceptionally” unusual but Dipper was still too sleepy to remember. He didn't think it could be anything super interesting though, just Ford trying to blame the supernatural for all kinds of things like he typically did.

But Dipper couldn’t help but to feel a bit uneasy. What if, for example, he had found remains of the ritual? They hadn’t cleaned it up afterwards but it had been over a month so it was likely that rain had washed the circle away.

The silence hung heavy in the air.

"So uh… how's the girl you talked about? Did you meet her parents?" The boy had never been good at small talk.

Ford shot a confused glance at Dipper. "Yes, I did. I told you before though."

"Oh, did you? I don't remember…" He thought about it for a while but no bells rang.

"This is it." Ford walked out into a clearing.

Well, it was more like a field of ash, really. 

"That's just the aftermath of a forest fire," Dipper said, not very surprised with the unusually high temperatures they were getting. "It happens. It's July and I wouldn't even question if I spontaneously combusted, the sun is not very merciful this year."

"No, you don't understand." Ford motioned towards the burnt part of the woods. " _This_ isn't how wildfires spread. There's no reason for them to just have stopped like that."

He shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it rained."

"You know yourself that it hasn't rained in a week."

"Making it more likely for this to be a wildfire."

Ford sighed in resignation and inspected the ashes.

Bill appeared next to him, chipper as ever. "Yellow! Watcha doing?" But as he glanced around, his attitude dropped into the fiery pits of hell. "Oh… oh no."

"What is it?" Dipper whispered, now actually worried.

"This smells like nightmare realm to me." The demon took a few steps into the ash clearing, his face contorting. This wasn't good at all. How could it even be possible? The nightmare realm was supposed to be sealed shut. "Oh yeah, this _reeks_." 

"What do you mean 'nightmare realm'!?" Dipper tried his best to keep his voice low but Ford already looked at him weird. He flashed an innocent smile which seemed good enough to the man.

"In my universe, I ruled over the nightmare realm. In this one I'm not so sure. I only know it's shut off a lot better than where I’m from. But how did one of those scavengers escape despite that fact?" He had a very bad feeling about this.

"So you're saying there's a _demon_ out in these woods?"

"Exactly. And you two need to leave unless you‘d fancy being grilled." Bill's voice displayed a sense of urgency and that was enough to freak Dipper out. If Bill thought this was an issue then it was one for sure.

"Um, we should leave, Ford." He tried not to panic and run for his life. 

"Why?" Ford looked up, hands covered in ash.

Dipper looked at Bill, helpless.

“Just tell him you forgot to hide a corpse or something, I don’t know,” said Bill with a shrug.

_Helpful as ever._

"I left the stove on and you probably have lots to do! At home!" Dipper turned around in a swift motion and walked into the forest.

"We didn't even use the stove-" He sighed in frustration and then added a whisper. "What is it with this boy recently…?"

"Oh Fordsy, how much I have missed you! Not!" Bill waited to make sure he would at least be there to witness if Ford got disemboweled by some demon. Honestly, he was sure Ford wouldn't even mind being killed if it meant getting a glimpse of a supernatural being. 

Finally, Ford walked after Dipper and Bill decided he'd rather talk to the boy than be Ford's babysitter. 

Dipper screeched as a form appeared before him without a warning. "Bill! I told you to stop that!" The demon just chuckled and Dipper shook his head in disapproval. "So, what do we do about this thing?"

"We need to secure the shack somehow- ...but there's no unicorns here… that's a bit problematic." He scowled in thought.

"Unicorns?“ He wasn‘t even surprised anymore.“Is there no other way?"

"Their hair has special properties but that's besides the point. To my knowledge there isn't but maybe Sixer has a lead on it, he could've found another solution."

"True."

Ford burst through the foliage, catching up with Dipper. "Are you alright? I heard a scream."

Bill scoffed. "Speak of the devil." 

"Yeah, no I'm fine. A squirrel hopped on top of me and… you know how I am." Wow, that sure was a great story. Good job, Dipper.

"I see."

"Um, Ford? Could I borrow some more of your demon research stuff? I was thinking about ways to keep demons out of, for example, your house."

Ford blinked at him and pulled up a brow.

"For the story, of course!"

While Ford didn‘t ask any questions, he did seem to try peeking into Dipper‘s mind with the way he watched him on the way back. Dipper let out an inaudible sigh when Ford‘s gaze lifted as they arrived at the shack.

It barely took a minute for Ford to press a huge chunk of books into Dipper's arms. He had a very fun time trying to get those up the stairs.

“Having a good time, noodle arms?“ Bill hung upside down from one of the roof beams.

With a groan, Dipper put the books on the ground to stretch his arms. “Didn‘t you choose to have a whole pile of slimy black pasta for legs in your previous form?“

“Are you saying you want me to go back?“ 

Dipper wished he could say no but the pasta pile had grown on him somehow. “It had it‘s charms.“

Finally, they sat on his bed, looking through the books. To speed it up a little, Bill read another book that Dipper had to flip for him. Well, he volunteered to flip the pages so Bill wouldn't have to waste his energy on it. They might need it later.

It took them hours to find something useful. A diary.

Bill read aloud. " 'November 15th, Today I successfully shielded the shack from demons so that they shall never destroy my knowledge of their existence.' So it's still secure?"

"I guess so but it's not very effective. I mean-" Dipper gestured towards Bill.

"No, Ford did this after the first summer you came here, meaning that I was here already. Essentially, I'm white listed." Bill laughed. "How ironic, Ford fool proofed his house against demons but the only demon he'd ever encounter was inside already."

"The only demon _except_ the one in the forest," the boy deadpanned.

Bill calmed down and nodded. "Good point."

"What are we gonna do about it?"

"Unless you want to fear going out every time, we need to get rid of it."

"You could teach me proper exorcism, right?"

"Well, I _could…"_ Bill looked nervous, glancing around. He didn't like that idea at all, but it might be the only way.

Right, Bill was a demon himself. Dipper put his hand on his thigh, trying to be reassuring. "Bill, I won't exorcise you. I don't mind having you here. I mean, it's a bit weird but at least I have someone interesting to talk to." Dipper looked at Bill with big, honest eyes, he still didn't seem convinced. Dipper knew that it was a risk to him so he tried not taking it personally. "I promise I won't use it against you."

"Alright, fine. If you exorcise me I'll be really pissed though." He snorted at himself, he'd be gone for a while for sure but exorcism wasn't easy and humans didn't have enough power to permanently get rid of demons as strong as him. He trusted Dipper.

"Thank you." Dipper smiled. "I don't even wanna know what would happen if you wanted revenge." 

"Oh no, you really don't."

The next day, Dipper had to beg Bill to start teaching him because he was still hesitant about it. Eventually, the demon gave in and they went outside. 

"For this one you'll need to use an ancient spell, we don't have the time to get you to make one yourself. Listen closely." He proceeded to speak words that were long forgotten.

Dipper just stood there, trying to get a grip on what he had heard but clearly failing. "Uh… what?"

Bill sighed. "We'll go sentence by sentence. 'Vgafp, P ark pos.' Now you."

"Um, vegaph parc poss." Dipper tried to make the sounds Bill made but his tongue refused. Bill bending over and wheezing didn't help much.

"K-kid, that's- Pffft." He tried to calm down but it was too golden. "'Vgafp. P. Ark. Pos.'" 

"Vegafp pe ark pos?"

Bill chuckled. "Yes, almost there." 

It took them a solid ten minutes for Dipper to be able to pronounce the first sentence.

"Alright, here comes the second one. 'Vgafp, P saun ymm'" Bill grinned in anticipation of what atrocity would come out of Dipper's mouth this time.

"Vgafp, P shaun yimm."

Honestly, that wasn't even bad. Bill fixed the small mistakes Dipper made and they went onto the next sentence.

" 'Fsdqu, gba jhydn fvvbza zf tfw fsgvoa lul cyeg tiqt.' "

"Fistqu, geba jyn fivzeba zfs tpff fgova lul cjeg tict."

And Bill went back to laughing. “You essentially told a demon to fuck off. Politely.”

Dipper smirked, making sure to keep that in mind. You never knew when it might come in handy.

That sentence took them ages to work out and Bill tried to write it down in the latin alphabet but that was fairly difficult. Dipper practiced in his room for the whole rest of the day.

"Okay, I think I'm almost perfect now. Can you say the whole thing again?"

" 'Vgafp, P ark pos. Vgafp, P saun ymm. Fsdqu, gba jhydn fvvbza zf tfw fsgvoa lul cyeg tiqt. Q ogeiqz acl hywz zyiq wcfkj aw gnv rcsna pqb jrrfne lq. Mfwy xbcvr qzczc fpackisc spr pqb augcl lgv fvvbza, jvmmf' and then you insert the name of the demon. Though you don't necessarily need it but if you don't use it you have to be very focused on who you want to exorcise."

Dipper nodded and repeated after Bill, it was easy to understand now and besides a couple minor pronunciation issues, it was really good. 

Bill patted Dipper's shoulder. "Wow, well done. I thought we'd need way more time for this." 

The boy smiled at the praise, glad his hard work paid off. "So we practice the magic part tomorrow?"

"Yes."

At night, Dipper planned to rehearse the spell with Bill. However, that plan was thwarted when his eyes opened to his room. "Ugh…" He felt like he hadn't slept at all and grabbed his phone, turning the screen on. It didn't display a time. Weird, must've been some glitch from a recent update.

He got up to use the bathroom, sneaking through the hallway and trying not to wake up Ford. It wasn't very likely since he slept downstairs but better safe than sorry. 

The mirror showed a reflection of himself, the circles under his eyes and acne scars. But something felt weird. He smelled ash. Fire.

The window was open and he went to close it. Even if it was the demon they should be safe in the shack. But when he looked out, he only saw fire. Everything was burning. 

_What the hell!?_ Dipper panicked. What if the fire spread? The shack could burn down, protected or not. He needed to alarm Ford.

He turned to the door but it was burning, thick smoke filled the air. Choking him. 

_Breathe! Air!_

This is how he would die. Exactly how Mabel had died. This was it. 

A man broke through the burning door. Bill. "Kid, I don't know what's going on. You're dreaming but I have no control over it." He held out his hand, voice taking a dire tone.

Relief washed over Dipper and he gladly accepted it. It pulled him out of the nightmare, sighing when he felt the carpet of the palace under his feet. He pulled Bill close and buried his face in his chest. His heartbeat fell until it was back to normal.

"It's fine. You're fine. The shack is fine." Bill gently combed through Dipper's curls. He felt the boy's muscles relax against him.

After a while he felt comfortable enough to talk. "What was that, Bill?"

"I'm not sure… Maybe it's because I'm saving up a lot of power."

Dipper sighed, looking exhausted. "So this might happen again?"

"I don't doubt it."

"Great…"

Over the course of the next few days, they worked towards getting Dipper to actually use the exorcism spell with magic. Obviously they couldn't just test it on anything so Dipper had to be the one to judge when he was ready. Currently, he didn't think he was. Far from it, actually. 

Bill worked hard on trying to repress Dippers nightmares and he didn't get why they were such an issue to deal with. He couldn't ignore them either because Dipper got a lot less rest since he started having them. They always involved the demon and fire. 

Wait-

 _It all made sense_. The fire theme. Breaking into Dipper's dreams. Being able to put up against Bill's attempts to change the dreams. It made so much sense.

"I know who it is."

Dipper stopped, currently in the middle of practicing the spell. "What? Who?"

"The demon, he is _me_."


	16. Phantasmal Killer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams can become more dangerous than given credit for.

Dipper's eyes widened with realization. "You?  _ This  _ universe's you?" 

"Exactly.” Bill paced over the meadow, brows furrowed.

“But didn’t you say the demons were sealed away?”

“It's possible that the ritual actually created a tear in the layer between the physical world and the nightmare realm… It was supposed to get  _ me _ out but obviously that’s not what happened." 

"So, we let him out by accident?" Of course they would open a rift for a demon without even wanting to. 

"Apparently. It might be a real issue too since I don't know how powerful it is…" Bill’s voice fell into a mumble and his hand found his chin, frown deepening. "Judging by the dreams I have no control over, it's a lot stronger than is ideal for us. If we just had more information..." 

Where to get information? Dipper chewed on his lip, the only connection they had to the demon were his dreams. Ford probably didn't have any valuable input for them since he hadn't met any demon yet. 

But wait, dreams weren't a bad kind of connection! He just needed to get closer to the demon instead of trying to run away or getting woken up by Bill. It didn‘t seem fun but this was potentially about life or death. "You need to stop altering my dreams."

"What? Why? You're already not sleeping enough-"

"It's the  _ only _ connection we have to him! Let me get closer, maybe it'll talk to me."

A worried look overwrote Bill's previous frown. "Pine Tree... this is very dangerous. Are you sure? We don't know what it's capable of." 

"And that's exactly why I need to get closer to him!"

Bill sighed in resignation. "Alright. But I'll stay on guard just in case."

Dipper went to bed that night with a sick stomach, knowing full well what hellscape he would open his eyes to. That being said, sleep didn‘t come easily.

When he finally gained consciousness again, his expectations turned out to be an understatement. He had no idea where he was. Hot ash marked his shoes and the whole world was burning. Adrenaline pierced through him as the heat hit his face. He was terrified.  _ Stay calm _ . It's just a dream. You're fine. His heart raced and he wanted to run, but there was only fire.

_It's fine. You're fine._ Dipper repeated words Bill whispered to him whenever he pulled him out of one of these dreams. He felt Bill's hands in his hair. His nails on his scalp. Ever so gentle. 

He inhaled and his lungs burned, quite literally, when he sucked in the smoke and hot embers. So he stopped breathing. This wasn't real, he didn't need air. Dipper turned his head and was greatly disappointed to see nothing but fire. If he wanted to find out anything at all he'd have to venture straight into the flames. 

Carefully, step by step, he got closer. His body felt like it was about to melt and he grit his teeth. He needed to get through this. For Bill and for Ford. For Mabel. And for whomever would fall victim to this demon if he didn't.  _ It‘s just a dream. _

Turns out dreams can hurt. A lot.

Dipper's foot touched the flame and searing hot pain shot through it. A cry left him but he had to go on. There was no other way. His leg was consumed by agony. Dipper's fists clenched, nails digging into his palms. It was just a dream.  _ A very painful one. _

His other leg soon joined. He panted. "Aaaggh- ghh-"

Tears rolled over his cheeks but evaporated almost instantly. Through his blurry vision he could barely make out a shape in the flames.

This was it. The demon. 

He took another step fueled by adrenaline, fear and a glimmer of hope. A voice reached his head, but the whispers were drowned out by the crackling of the fire.  _ Just a little bit closer. _

"Nghh-" The fire licked on his abdomen, scorching it. How much longer did he have to endure this?

"Zply. Didx. Ktvt." 

His head snapped to the vague shape that was barely hidden now. A triangle. It's voice echoed in his head and it's words made his head spin. He didn't understand anything. 

Had it been for nothing?

He slowly made his way towards it. "W-who are you?" His voice shook and cracked but he didn't fault himself. Wasn't everyday that he walked into fire to meet a demon he needed dead. 

"Rppuxr."

The flames roared up, engulfing Dipper completely. "AGH-" His whole body ignited and he collapsed. He thrashed, desperately trying to get the flames off of himself. But to no avail. He went blind. This was it. He burnt alive. He was gonna die. This was it. "H-help! Please ah- no!" 

"Bbsg didxl."

There was nobody there to hear him. Nobody except for the demon. He was dead. 

"Ihkr aik bohoz."

He tried to scream but there was nothing left to scream from. The flames completely destroyed his body, his consciousness slowly faded, he was only unending pain.

"Zply fy gfhpb apwj."

When Dipper breathed in, the air was mild. He gasped and shot up. He was in his room. An undone Bill sat next to him, holding his hand, relief spilled over his face. The heat faded. It  _ was _ only a dream.

"Dipper, I told you this was a bad idea." He didn't sound angry or disappointed, his voice was thick with worry. 

"I was burning… a-alive…" Dipper stared at his lap. His body felt like it was brand new after the pain he had just been through. He touched his head, his arms and his legs. They were all still there, drenched in now cold sweat.

"I know. Don't try to be a hero, it'll get you killed."

He was right, Dipper had accomplished nothing. Only another trauma to be added to the pile. Great. Fantastic. "It was all pointless, wasn't it...?" A long sigh found its way out of Dipper. He was tired. 

"No, it talked to you. I understood what it said.” The demon paused for a moment. “It wants to fight me in order to absorb my power."

"So... it wants to kill you?" Dipper leaned against Bill, he was exhausted and his eyes fell shut each time he forced them open. The demon nodded. He was too tired to be concerned. "Then... we need to kill it first…" Cuddling against an arm, he dozed off into dreamland. This time it was heavily guarded and fireproof.

The next morning, Dipper got out of bed energized and with the feeling of having dreamt something pleasant even though he couldn‘t seem to remember.

He busied himself with researching old books about a dream demon on the floor of his great uncle's room. He found a lot about Alps and Maras but that wasn't at all helpful. A few times, a fiery succubus popped up but he disregarded her as well. 

The door opened and Ford entered. "What are you looking for?"

"Oh, um… well the wildfire kind of made me curious. I'm looking for fire demons."

"I see…" He adjusted his glasses and looked at his bookshelf. "Ah, here." The man pulled out an old looking book and opened it, flipping through the pages until he put it down on the floor in front of Dipper. On it was a very rough sketch of a triangular form hidden behind fire.

His eyes widened, this was it.

"You look shocked, what is it?" He kneeled down next to Dipper to inspect the pages himself.

"N-nothing. It's just I think it fits perfectly into my story!"

Ford pulled both his brows up in disbelief. "You believe in demons, don't you?"

"Well uh… kinda."

"Why is that?”.

"I don't know? It just sort of… makes sense." Dipper knew he should tell Ford the truth soon or he would probably find out on his own. He didn't know what kind of disaster that would end in.

The man sighed at his great nephew's conflicted expression. "Sorry, I will stop bothering you now." Then, he left Dipper alone. 

Well, he could really use some of Bill‘s improvisational skills. Maybe he could give him some tutoring on lies in exchange for control over Dipper‘s right leg or something.

Anyways, research. He looked back down at the book, reading the messy text scribbled onto the page.

'Not much is known about this demon but it is the supposed ruler of the other realm. There have been many sightings of it during sleep in recent years but one day it mysteriously disappeared. Some say another demon killed it.'

Huh. Well, that didn't help much since they knew it wasn't dead for sure.

After some more fruitless skimming, he got up and walked to Ford who was seated on the new living room couch. "Would you mind if I take some of your weapons? You know, in case there is a demon in the woods and I need to defend myself?"

Ford seemed a bit perplexed at the request. "If it makes you feel safer.“

He got up and into the basement they went. He typed in several codes to unlock the weaponry cabinet and then pulled out a collection of firearms. He lifted them up one by one to explain. "This one is for absorbing any magic it throws at you. This one is for removing curses. This is for deleting memories but I'm not sure if it works on demons. This… well this is just a fire extinguisher, really. But comes in very handy, trust me."

And he went on and on and on. Dipper turned off his ears for ten minutes before snapping back to Ford when he started waving in front of his face. "Sorry, I'm a bit tired." He said sheepishly and scratched his neck.

"I know I talk a lot when it's about science." Ford said with an apologetic expression. "Don't break them though and if you do, tell me so I can fix them."

"Sure thing." 

Ford helped him carry up several boxes of odd firearms and Dipper's arms ached when they were done. He got ready for the night and got into bed. 

Somehow, the guns made him feel even less safe. He didn't want to know what would happen if one went off by accident when he slept. He hoped it would be the fire extinguisher.

After a while of overthinking about the possibilities of being crushed by the roof due to one of the guns being triggered, he finally drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, looking back at this whole story I can see what a mess it is. It’s been over half a year since i came up with the story and did the outline, pretty much knowing nothing about story structure. Don’t get me wrong, I did my research and tried to go with typical story structure but I didn’t truly understand it at all back then. I think I have a pretty decent grip on it now but nobody will be able to judge that until I start another project.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's reading or left kudos on this chaotic pile of sentences. And thanks to all the people leaving their support in the comments. That just needed to be said. I can’t believe how many people are reading this smH.
> 
> Before I let you go, shameless plug:
> 
> Find me on Instagram and Twitter for art of my thicc idiot Bill. Trust me when I say it’s a lot better than my writing. I also have tumblr and DeviantArt now but I am not great at keeping those up since I rarely use them rip-
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/terroiart/  
> https://twitter.com/terroiart  
> https://terroiart.tumblr.com/  
> https://www.deviantart.com/terroiart
> 
> Okay I’m done, see you next monday.


	17. Crown of Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thing do not always go the way we want them to.

Dipper woke up, his gaze wandering through the moonlit room. It looked a bit off but he blamed it on being drowsy.

What time was it? He tried fishing for his phone on the nightstand but his hand hit wood. It was probably in the kitchen, he must've forgotten it there. Dipper sighed and closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. 

After several minutes, his eyes opened again. He wasn't tired enough for sleep anymore and got up to walk over to his desk. As he stepped into the cold light, he noticed the _several_ moons illuminating the forest. This was a dream. Dipper chuckled as his gaze wandered over the trees. It looked lovely outside, eerie but in a good way, and his room felt pressing. 

The window opened by itself and the mild summer night air caressed Dipper's skin. He took a deep breath. It wasn't enough, he wanted to go out there. He turned around to the door but hesitated. Why take the long route if he could just…?

Dipper spun back around, sprinted to the window and hopped out into the grass. A squeal of joy escaped his lips. He disregarded the pain in his legs. Since his body was asleep, what was the point in worrying?

The moonlight engulfed him, making him feel at peace. Relaxed. But something pulled him deeper into the forest. 

"I can't leave the shack in the physical world, but here..." Nobody was there to tell him not to so he wandered off into the foliage. 

It was truly beautiful. Beams of cool light flashed through the leaves above, making the forest glow mysteriously. 

The air was light but warm. And it got warmer. And warmer. Dipper shifted nervously when the temperature kept rising as if molten rock was approaching. But there was no need to be unsettled by a dream. Right? 

He held out his hand, daring the dream to surprise him. 

His fingertips touched a stone like surface. It felt as hot as the sun.

Dipper screamed and pulled his fingers back. He woke up, this time for real. A searing light blinded him. Blood rushed through his ears. _What the hell._

When his eyes adjusted, he found himself surrounded by woods. Crap.

He had sleepwalked into the forest. Abandoning the safety of the shack. And he was facing the demon, in all it's fiery glory. 

He walked right into a trap. _Major crap_.

"Mzzh Pwuteu."

The demon's finger touched Dipper's forehead and before he even had time to flinch, he collapsed. His vision went blank.

In the meantime, Bill had been meditating. He had stocked up as much energy as he could to prepare for a potential fight, however he didn‘t expect it so soon.

It was when pain washed over to him that he worried and snapped into the Dipper‘s head. _Oh great_. What had he gotten himself into this time?

Dipper layed on the ground of his own mindscape, a pine forest.

Staring down at the boy was the other demon, triangular and red, covered in flames. It's one eye shifting to look at him. Shit. Shit _shitshit._

"Qmw."

_How did it get into the kid's mindscape!?_

It bolted forward to grab Bill but he dodged it's dark hand swiftly before he abandoned his humanoid form and mutated into his eldritch form. While he did like his human body, it was very ill fit for a battle. 

He would show that asshole who the true Bill Cipher was. "Whoopsie, looks like you were a bit too slow!" He had missed this. The heat of a fight. All the sweet sweet risks. He only needed to bury the fear that boiled up when he thought of Dipper being involved. Bill grinned as he went for a counterattack, throwing an orb of dark purple energy at the other. It exploded on impact. Forget the kid to protect the kid.

Dipper barely came back to his senses and he was already being bombarded with explosions. The red demon stood as tall as a house and across from it floated a dark humanoid being, Bill, also about as tall. They exchanged blows made of fire and various other kinds of magic that he couldn't even put a name to. And he couldn't do anything besides watch.

Bill was very generous with the amount of energy he burnt with a single attack. Too generous as he felt his reserves dwindle faster and faster. He needed more or else he would be in big trouble. And not just him, Dipper as well.

The other demon charged at him and Bill tried to keep him away with another dark orb but it was too weak. Deep gashes opened on his side. He knew he couldn't keep up for much longer as he took the impact of the other demon, trying to wrestle it down. "Dipper- I don't- have enough energy." He croaked, his voice strained from pain.

But what could he do? He was just a boy. Dipper wasn't good enough at magic to make an impact and he shared reserves with Bill. They were damned.

_The statue._

"Force me awake! I'll bring us closer to your statue!" He shouted upwards, hoping Bill would hear it.

What a smart kid. With Dipper close to the statue, it would be much easier to regenerate power. But the more time he spent near it, the more the human would be at risk. That meant, Bill had to make it count.

Bill directed his energy at Dipper for a split second, bringing him back to consciousness and risking a fatal blow from the other demon. It barely missed and the rest of Bill's excitement turned to terror. 

He might lose. He might lose and get killed by this demon. 

Dipper would get killed by this demon.

Bill could come back, but if Dipper died- They couldn't lose.

In the physical realm, Dipper sprinted towards the statue. It was quite a stretch and not very pleasant. His head hurt and throbbed, every noise was too much. He faded in and out of consciousness, falling into the grass more than once. The wolves barked at him but he knew they couldn't hurt him. He wasn't in as much danger as Bill was in so he continued running. If he didn't get there fast enough- he didn't want to continue that thought.

Bill kept up the fight with slightly better chances since his power charged up faster. He took a few hits but also landed a decent amount. One hit him hard. Golden ichor leaked from his coal black form and he snarled. The tear healed slowly but not fast enough to make a difference. 

He would fucking show this _shitty knock-off Cipher_ that there was only space for _one_ of them. 

His eye morphed into a mouth with too many teeth to count, all razor sharp. Yanking the other demon close, he sunk his fangs into his form, drawing it's gooey metallic blood. He clenched his jaw tighter and tugged on it as more and more power returned to him. Finally, the chunk ripped free from the demon metallic ooze splattered everywhere.

"Dipper, I can hold it down but-" The other demon screeched in rage before bombarding him with fiery claws which tore upen more wounds on Bill. "Gh-I need you to perform the exorcism, _now-_ " It's talons clawed at Bill's throat and he was barely able to keep them off.

Dipper showed up in the mindscape, immediately reciting the ritual. "Vgafp, P ark pos." He was gonna do this. 

The demon's eyes snapped to the human and it's claws lowered. It realized the threat.

 _Never let your guard down, sucker._ Bill took the opportunity to pin it to the ground and restrain it in an iron grip. A victorious grin split his face.

It was done for, they had won.

"Vgafp, P saun ymm. Fsdqu, gba jhydn fvvbza zf tfw fsgvoa lul cyeg tiqt."

It's eye widened and it started flailing, trying to reach for Dipper, but Bill had it under control.

"Q ogeiqz acl hywz zyiq wcfkj aw gnv rcsna pqb jrrfne lq."

When it figured out it didn't have a chance of getting free, it screeched, trying to communicate. 

Bill gave it a squeeze. "Shut it. You lost." 

Dipper was almost done. "Mfwy xbcvr qzczc fpackisc spr-"

"S _t_ **Op**!" The demon had stopped struggling, eye fixated on Dipper. 

And he did stop, he didn't understand it before. Maybe it was foolish of him but-

"What are you waiting for!? Finish it off!" Bill shouted, clearly agitated, wounds dripping gold.

"If it has something to say, I'll let it."

" **B** **_I_ ** _lL Cip_ he **R** is _A liA_ **_r._ **"

It was Bill's turn for surprise. He knew exactly what it was about to say and he dug his nails deeper into the demon below him. "Dipper end it! Don't listen to it!" Dipper was on his side, right? He trusted him. _Right_?

“...I know he‘s not the most honest so what do you mean“

" _H_ **_e_ ** _tR_ ieD t **o t** r _ic_ **_k_ ** yo **u. Tr** **_i_ ** _ed_ to Tu **rn** _yo_ u **r bo** _d_ y in **t** o h **_is._ **"

"What... are you talking about?" He looked over at Bill. His eyes were wide. Panicked, guilty as charged. 

Had he really been lying to him?

The red demon pushed Bill off and shoved him to the ground, choking him. He had let his guard down.

"No! You don't understand! Don't believe it! Agh-" His claws gripped at the other demon's hands.

" **T** h _e r_ **_Itu_ ** _aL_ wou **Ld** **_h_ ** _ave_ ki _ll_ **_ed_ ** _y_ **_o_ ** u i _f it_ **_di_ ** **d** n't fa _il."_

He stared at the demon, dumbstruck. He didn‘t want to believe it.

But it made sense. Dipper didn't need to get a body for the ritual. _He_ _was_ the body. Bill would've taken over his body or just killed him. 

His chest welled up with pain and his eyes teary. Had Bill cared? Did he care now? Or had he only wanted to use him?

"Vgafp, P ark pos." He spoke with a clear, yet sorrowful voice, directed at Bill whose eye widened.

"Dipper no! That's not the whole story- it just wants to end me and then it'll get you next!" His voice was full of panic and he writhed under the other demon, trying to get free. _He should've told him, should've talked to him_. But now it was too late.

"Vgafp, P saun ymm." Dipper continued.

"Dipper I'm sorry! I really am!" His gaze was one of pain and regret. He sighed. He needed to get all of it out. "The truth is, yes, you would've died from the ritual. But I started to get attached to you." 

"Fsdqu, gba jhydn fvvbza zf tfw fsgvoa lul cyeg tiqt."

"I felt terrible about it and so I said we had all the materials we needed even though we didn't. I didn't care if I had a body or not, I just didn't want to lose you!"

"Q ogeiqz acl hywz zyiq wcfkj aw gnv rcsna pqb jrrfne lq."

"Dipper please! I wanted to tell you but I was afraid you'd hate me and not talk to me again! I know you're angry and I know I fucked up but is this really how you want it to end?!" Bill‘s eye locked with Dipper‘s, hopeful and desperate at the same time.

But Dipper didn't stop. "Mfwy xbcvr qzczc fpackisc spr pqb augcl lgv fvvbza-"

Then this was it. Bill accepted Dipper's decision.

He closed his eye, awaiting a terrible pain to tear him apart to be never seen again with assistance of the other demon.

"-jvmmf Cipher." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve waited for this moment. This cliffhanger. Hehehehe...


	18. Counterspell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No you.

The pain didn't come and Bill started to think the spell might've failed. That's when he felt the other demon's weight lift off him. He sighed, relieved Dipper decided this wasn't his death day. He would have to explain a few things to him.

The small form not too far away looked at him with hurt doe eyes. A stab spiked through Bill middle at the sight, he regretted ever having wanted to hurt the kid. Morphing into his human form, he got up from the ground. "Dipper-"

But Dipper was already set on leaving the mindscape, he couldn't deal with Bill right now. It was just too much. Too many lies. Too many decisions and he didn't know if he would regret them later. 

"No, wait!" The demon cried out, his hand trying to reach Dipper even though he knew he couldn't make him stay.

"Leave me a-alone." Dipper's voice wavered and then he was gone.

Bill stared after him for a while and finally let out a defeated laugh. "You fucked up big time, Cipher… I get someone to truly trust me and still mess it up… Stupid demonic nature." With a flick of his wrist, he returned to his palace where he would likely have to stay for now. Alone.

In the meantime, Dipper made his way back from the vicinity of the statue to the shack. Tears rolled down his face and he sobbed, his heart wrenched. It shouldn't but it did. He could've seen this coming.  _ Bill is a demon, how dumb could he have been?  _ Dipper had been too blinded by his need for a friend to share his life with. 

By the time he got back, he just wanted to pass out for a week. Dipper felt exhausted, both physically and mentally. He went straight to bed and hoped Bill would have the decency to leave him alone in his sleep.

His dreams reflected everything that happened. Running through the woods with his limbs barely working. Terrified to die. In so much pain. And all the regrets. All of the betrayal, all of the pain and the fight. But instead of the other demon, Dipper killed Bill.

When Dipper slept, Bill felt the waves of fear and pain. He really shouldn't, but he reached into the dream regardless, skillful hand weaving a calming and serene forest with no one to bother Dipper. 

A small spark of hope flared up in Bill. Maybe he could forgive him and understand. Maybe they could be friends. Take things slow. Start from scratch. 

It wasn’t worth entertaining the thought, just wishful thinking. The kid hated him now. Like everyone in his universe. Nobody could like a demon. Ever. Maybe it was for the better he was stuck in Dipper's head. He'd die when Dipper would die and never hurt anyone again. The Axolotl had made the right decision. 

While Bill fell deeper into his thoughts, Dipper started to feed his own spark of hope in the peaceful forest.  _ If _ what Bill said was true, then he truly regretted wanting to use him as a vessel. After all, he had chosen to sabotage the ritual himself, nobody else could be given credit for that.

Maybe he  _ had _ changed for the better and if that was the case, shouldn't Dipper be supportive? Shouldn't he be happy  _ he  _ was the one to bring out the good side of the demon? He shouldn't have reacted the way he did for sure, it was irrational. 

After pondering over this for a while, he woke up to the morning sun illuminating the room in a pleasant warm light. He went through his usual morning routine but there was this feeling of despair in the back of his mind that he couldn't shake off. He was brushing his teeth when it hit him.

Bill. Those were Bill's feelings.

Dipper felt very guilty for how he handled things, nibbling on his lip while his gut sank. He had to fix this, they needed to talk.

When he was done, he sat down on his bed, not doing anything for a while. His stomach twisted with anxiety. Finally, he got his guts together and spoke up. "Bill?"

Nothing happened.

"Bill, I wanna talk."

And the demon snapped into existence at the opposing end of the room, avoiding Dipper's gaze. "I can just stop bothering you and… exist in the back of your mind on my own." His expression was blank, he didn't want Dipper to see how pathetic he was now and he lifted his hand to snap himself back.

"No! I-I think we should talk this out." Dipper looked at his lap. "I mean unless you don't want to…"

"Talk it out, huh?"

"Do you want to start, or…?"

Bill sighed. "Well, since my intentions were already spilled, I might as well tell you everything. About me." This was a hard border to cross. Admitting all his wrong doings. Revealing his past. 

Dipper nodded and patted next to him on the bed, Bill took the hint and sat down next to him.

"In the other universe, I ruled over the nightmare realm after I had… burnt down my home dimension. Nobody was more powerful than me. Our plan was to liberate the physical world, the universe with all its dimensions. But there was one issue, the bridge between the nightmare realm and the physical world was shut off. I only had access to the mindscape and the dreamscape. So over millions of years, I planned. Taking into account every plausible possibility and outcome."

The boy listened closely, he couldn't imagine what it must've been like back then. Millions of years ago. It was weird to think he had access to a being that was older than their concept of time and numbers.

"And then I found this nifty planet called Earth that was inhabited by civilizations of people whose goals were very primitive. The perfect target. I made deals upon deals to get closer to my goal and became somewhat famous amongst humanity."

He sat right next to a being who had experienced the dusk of humanity. "Like the pyramids and stuff? I guess you're responsible for the Aztec and Mayan one's too." 

Bill nodded to that but didn't want to start to ramble so he continued where Dipper had interrupted him.

"You and I, well not  _ you  _ you but you know, had a few meetings. One day, your great uncle Stan powered up a portal that Fordsy had built with my help to get him back from another dimension. Yadda, yadda, yadda. There was residue of the portal called 'the rift' which Fordsy secured because he knew I would force myself upon your world if it got into my hands. And well, it did get into my hands. I broke it, creating a tear between my realm and the physical one, created a physical form and started to wreak havoc over Gravity Falls."

Weirdmageddon. So it wasn't just a random hallucination.

"But I got stopped by you and your family. Though there was an additional barrier that kept me from spreading the chaos to anything outside the radius of Gravity Falls. Said barrier doesn't exist here so this would've been the perfect world to take over. With my last words I reached out to an ancient being, the Axolotl. It granted me my wish to return, except I was attached to your mind and my power got locked in the statue. I'm not sure why it decided to do that but that's how it went. 

„Well, I needed to figure out where I was because there was little I could do at the start. It took a lot of time to finally understand what happened and I was angry. I wanted revenge and still hadn't given up on the world domination thing, but you were too young and I didn't have enough power to interact with you except for watching sometimes. I also saw when you were thinking Weirdmaggeddon was happening. Maybe the Axolotl wanted you to see that, I'm not sure."

He certainly wouldn't have complained if everyone didn't think he was crazy.

"You were miserable and grew even worse as time passed so I fabricated a plan that I wanted to put into action, however I needed more power and for you to be desperate enough to actually agree to a deal. When Shooting Star died, I knew I didn't have to wait much longer and then you came back here, boosting the amount of energy I got. Obviously, the other times you were here had the same effect but that time was the one that pushed me over the edge of the power I needed. 

„You know what happened then, we made a deal and my intention was to take your body and morph it into something more suited to me. Obviously you wouldn't just have given your body to me so I found this ritual with which I would've taken you over. But after a while of spending time with you I started feeling bad. Maybe at the time it was just me being lonely but… now it's a bit more complicated. I sabotaged the ritual and didn't tell you about all of this out of fear you'd hate me. And now we're here…" He let out a deep sigh.

Dipper didn't know what to say. "That's… a lot…" 

"I regret it all, I wish I could somehow make it back up to you." 

"No it's… it's fine." Under his breath, he added "If it went any differently I might've never met you…" He placed his hand on Bill's thigh and looked into his eyes. He needed to ask this. "You said… that your feelings are more complicated now? So you really like me? Like, actually?"

"Yes… I do like you. Maybe a bit too much…" A sad smile spread on Bill's lips. "But it's not like that matters, does it?"

Dipper's heart skipped but he tried to ignore it. "It does matter. It means you have feelings."

"That's not a good thing though."

"It is! Why would you think it's not?"

"I had them once before and it didn't end well."


	19. Healing Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes words can do more than magic.

Bill has had feelings for someone before Dipper, huh? He wasn't the first one. It shouldn‘t make any difference but his stomach fell regardless. He chose to ignore it for now, this wasn't just about him. "So... what happened?"

"Long story short, she was a roman woman and as roman culture demanded, she had to get married at some point. Not to me, it was too risky."

Being a woman back in the day, not the most fun Dipper could imagine having. Not being able to work and having to obey your husband or father because you depended on them? Definitely not the best times for humanity

"I knew she'd wind up in a lot of trouble if we continued meeting but I couldn't convince her. In a way, we blinded each other."

Dipper smiled. He may not have known Bill for long but he already made him exorcise a demon. Not that he was mad at him, he brought him hope, a sense of belonging and a future, as well. The woman must‘ve felt similarly. "What kind of trouble?" 

"I had stolen a body at the time and was… well, a known criminal, so that didn't make our day to day life easier. I always tried to keep her out of my business but she hated cleaning and cooking all day long. It made her want to break out of the norms. It was either her being unhappy or her risking life."

"So what happened?"

"I wish I had left her…" The demon paused for a bit. Should he go on? He felt out of place. He went decades with this story buried, his feelings locked away so this may never repeat. But Dipper changed that.

"One day, it was a very ambitious job, I should‘ve known the risks were too high, I got caught. They were going to execute me. I laughed and mocked the executioner but then they brought her... She convinced them of my innocence and made herself look guilty. I got sentenced to serve as a slave and she… with her gone, there was no reason to stay human. I ended up killing my body." He sighed, drawing patterns on Dipper's hand with his finger. "All these years I've felt so empty, I could never quite grasp why. Maybe I just didn't want to accept why. I tried to fill the void with power and 'fun', murder, trickery, et cetera. I learned that sort of morbid entertainment won't help me."

"I'm sorry… for all of that." Dipper leaned against Bill's shoulder.

A smile tugged on Bill‘s lips. This boy was too good. "No, you shouldn't be. It‘s been ages." 

"You went through a lot… It's starting to fall together, why you're the way you are…" His eyes wandered to Bill's hesitantly. "I… understand, in a way. I didn't really have any friends besides Mabel and Soos, but he moved away with his girlfriend. Nobody liked me, they thought I was insane because of the hallucinations. Mabel was my only real friend and since she died I… I felt so empty and pointless." Dipper got a bit worked up, his words trembled ever so slightly as tears welled. His breath caught in his throat several times. 

Bill's hand found its way into Dipper's curls, gently working through them calmingly. "I tried to stuff it with food, still do, and after Mabel had died I also turned to alcohol for a while. A-And-" He stopped to wipe at his tears. "And- I tried to- to kill myself a couple of times. But I was too- too weak-" A sob cut him off and he grabbed onto Bill's suit.

The demon's chest stung. He had contributed to this. He added to the spiral of despair. "You weren't 'too weak', Dipper. You were strong, strong enough to pick the hard way instead of the easy one." He wrapped his arm around the boy and caressed his side in an attempt to comfort him. He was so, so infinitely sorry for making Dipper's life harder. "You were strong for clinging to the last bit of hope that things will change."

"A-and they did." Dipper's face was wet with tears, mouth turned in a gentle smile."Th-ank you. I needed that-" He buried his face in Bill's chest and let out the remaining sobs while the demon ran his fingers through his hair.

After what felt like hours, Dipper loosened from their embrace. He stayed close, wiping away the remaining tears. "It's been so long since the Roman Empire, don‘t you want to try moving on?"

Bill considered it, eyeing the ground. It was true, times were different now. "Maybe I should… Maybe it's time I try feelings again after I've locked them away for so long." It could be worth a shot, he could imagine it with Dipper. He trusted him. 

A gentle silence fell over them.

"Hey Bill?" 

Bill turned his head, about to open his mouth.

Before he could even attempt to answer, Dipper moved forward.

He pressed his mouth to Bill's. The brunette‘s lips were soft. Bill wanted to lean in, demand more, relish this moment, but Dipper pulled away without giving him time to react.

Dipper chuckled as the demon stared at him like he had grown a third eye. Bill blinked. Dipper was still sitting there except with the stupidest, cutest smile spread over his face.

Bill felt warm and fuzzy. He liked that feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet but very short so-


	20. Mislead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black and white are only the ends to a spectrum of gray.

The door opened and Dipper flinched away from Bill. Said demon disappeared.

Of course Ford had to barge in now. Dipper let out a slightly irritated sigh. "What is it?"

"Would you want to eat lunch together, outside perhaps?" He asked innocently.

Ford had good intentions and that it wasn't his plan to interrupt this moment. That didn‘t mean Dipper was happy about it  _ but  _ Dipper did grow hungrier with each passing minute. "I- Alright." He‘d have to sort this out later. Ugh, Bill would probably tease the hell out of him.

Dipper and Ford prepared vegetables together. Carrots, potatoes and onions put into a bowl with some oil, salt and rosemary. They put it into the oven and prepared a table to eat outside, though Ford got an important call, probably from work, and went back inside.

It was a pleasant day, not too warm. Clouds covered the sky, providing shelter from the increasingly relentless summer sun.

Dipper threw a cloth over the table and set down the plates and cups. 

Out of nowhere, Bill appeared on Ford's chair, resting his shoes on the table and crossing his arms behind his head, acting as if they hadn‘t kissed just a minute ago. "Hello there, Pine Tree. What's all this for?" He gestured to the silverware in front of his feet. "Is this our first date already? You could‘ve at least told me, I would have put on my best suit!"

Dipper scoffed at Bill's manners with a smile. "You're such a child sometimes, I can't believe I was ever scared of you." He put the forks next to the plates and sat down, blushing at Bill‘s comment. He wasn‘t going to give the demon the pleasure of indulging into his teasing. "You gotta have a nice family meal outside sometimes. Only scary demons are invited."

Bill grinned. "Wow. Excuse you, I'm a billion years old. You're, what, five?" He took his legs off the table and stood, leaning over to Dipper so their faces were only a few inches apart. His voice laced with threat. "Oh I’m  _ plenty  _ scary. I could make you fear me if I wanted to." 

Dipper stared at Bill for a second. He contemplated him being serious but the demon laughed, backing off and walking around the table. 

"Don't worry, kid! You know I wouldn‘t last a day without bugging you!" He ruffled through the boy's curls in a loving manner.

"Hey!" He smiled as he tried to smack Bill's hand away. 

The demon grinned down at him in triumph as Dipper's hand went straight through his arm. "Still can't hit me,  _ darling _ ." 

_ Darling _ ? Dipper's heart jumped at that and he felt his face heat up. "Y-you're no fair!" 

Bill opened his mouth but Ford stepped out of the shack with their lunch in hand so he settled on observing. What was it with him and interruptions?

The food smelled so good, it made Dipper's stomach grumble in anticipation. Finally. He was starving. Dipper grabbed his fork but waited until Ford had sat down. He shoveled some potatoes and carrots on his plate with a spatula and dug straight in. 

His tongue burned but he couldn't care less since it tasted amazing, he would suffer any amount of pain for food. Except for being toasted alive. That just wasn't worth it.

"Do you smell that?" Ford's brows furrowed as he sucked in more air. 

"Hm? You mean the food? Smells great." He stabbed some more potatoes to stuff his mouth with.

"Nevermind, it's probably just a barbecue."

Dipper shrugged, too distracted by the food to care. 

Though he  _ did _ care about Bill who had been staring at him since he started to eat. He wanted to tell him to stop creeping him out but couldn't exactly do so with Ford right in front of him. 

Bill got the gist despite the lack of communication. He deliberately decided not to oblige. Instead, he stared even more.

"Your birthday is soon, do you want to go anywhere for breakfast as per usual?"

"Oh, sure. We could go to the diner if that's fine with you." The diner was still standing, surprisingly. It had started falling apart but Dipper guessed the people that went there didn't care too much. Neither did he, it was a place he knew and loved, some rusty nails wouldn't change that.

"It's your birthday, if you want to go there then that's where we will go." Ford smiled.

Dipper returned the smile as he ate the rest of the food left on the plate. He put some more on it. "Anything new from the Northwests?"

"Yes, actually! I've talked to them and they're considering taking Pacifica back in. It took quite some convincing but it seems things are going better now."

"Oh, that's great." Even though he didn't know the family, he was glad to hear things went well for them. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to get thrown out for liking the same gender. That shouldn't even matter in the first place.

After they finished lunch, Dipper put the dishes in the dishwasher and the tablecloth back to that one wardrobe in the living room that was hardly ever used. Bill must've vanished at one point but knowing him, he would be back soon. 

He went upstairs into his room. It smelled of books like always. Dipper settled on the bed, sketchbook in hand. He was incredibly motivated to draw some creatures and he did just that. Unicorns, those smoke bunnies, deer with wings, anything that came to mind.

But then he got caught up, thinking about what had happened earlier.

Dipper kissed him.

He smiled to himself, proud of having followed through with that. He put his pencil back on the paper and continued sketching. This time it was a human.

What were they now? Friends usually didn't kiss each other and it felt… different to a friendship. Were they a couple? But there was just one kiss, that didn't need to mean anything… or did it? 

And the pencil found its way into Dipper's mouth, being tortured by teeth. He sighed, rubbing his head.

Dipper didn't really feel like they were in a relationship but the thought bothered him. He'd like for it to be one. A demon for a boyfriend, how crazy was that? 

The person on the paper was joined by a smaller person, connected through their hands. They looked happy.

Could they ever be happy? Bill had more than a fair share of demonic quirks and Dipper had, well, all the human stuff and probably some mental illnesses. Maybe they'd break apart and start to hate each other. Humans and demons were too different.

What if they did find happiness together? Bill would be stuck in Dipper's head, restricted forever. 

No, until Dipper died.

Would Bill live on? Or would he have to sacrifice his immortality and die with Dipper?

It didn't seem fair either way. 

Maybe they'd find a way to make Dipper immortal. 

No, that sounded terrible. He'd have to watch all the rest of his family die, everyone he'd ever meet would die before him and the only one he'd have was Bill. That sounded way too unstable for him and immortality seemed exhausting anyways.

Rationally, they shouldn't become more than friends.

Irrationally, he still wanted them to be more than friends.

"Ugh…" Dipper put his sketchbook down and let himself fall into bed. All this thinking made his head hurt. He‘d read a book and forget about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I decided to upload a second chapter today. Happy 4/20 my dudes.


	21. Dancing Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Light up the darkness.

Dipper woke from a pleasant night of reading. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, then turned to his side to hug a pillow. It felt so soft and he wished he could stay in bed for the rest of his life.

"Rise and shine, birthday pine!" An all too familiar voice shouted before sitting down on the bed. 

"Ugh… _Bill_." Dipper buried his face in the pillow and pulled the blanket over his head. He should be getting up but he was tired, warm and way too comfortable.

The demon snickered, his hand passing through the blanket to poke Dipper's cheek. "Come on! Don't sleep the whole day, I've got something planned for us! If I recall correctly, mind that my memory is flawless, you and Fordsy wanted to go out as well." 

Dipper flinched when the nail touched his skin. Right, demon in another plane of existence. He sighed, pushing the blanket off of himself as he sat up. "You've got something planned? I thought you wouldn‘t care for birthdays."

"Oh, I don't! They're pretty pointless, really. You get attention you don't usually get for one day and then are forgotten until next year. Wowie! One year closer to death, hooray!" He gestured wildly, grin as big as ever.

Death. The thing that hindered Dipper from being more than friends with Bill. He pushed that thought out of his head, it wouldn't do him any good right now.

" _However,_ I know _you_ appreciate the gesture, so I'll adjust. I've wanted to go there with you for a while anyways, might as well do it now!" 

He did appreciate the gesture. In fact, it was cute Bill had thought of his birthday. "So, where are we going? Wait- have I ever even told you about my birthday?"

"You'll see when we get there later. Did you already forget I spent years in your head? I sure didn't think you'd have dementia yet!" 

Dipper slapped his forehead. "That's right." He looked up at Bill and smiled. "Anyways, I'm glad you care."

The demon smiled back. "So am I, kid." 

A bit later, Dipper and Ford sat in the diner for breakfast. Dipper had ordered pancakes and Ford got himself a sandwich. 

Susan brought them their food, beaming when she recognized them. "Oh, Dipper! We haven't seen each other in ages, have we?" She placed the pancakes and the sandwich in front of them. "And a happy birthday, of course!" She patted his shoulder.

"Thank you. No, it's been a while." 

"And where's your darling sister?" Susan looked around, searching for her in the room.

"She's… not here." Dipper took his fork to stab at a pancake, his mood slowly sunk into melancholy. Of course she would ask _that_ question.

"Where is she then? Los Angeles still?"

Ford looked at her, shaking his head. Susan's eyes widened. "Oh… I'm so sorry, I'll leave you two to it." Then she headed back into the kitchen.

Dipper wasn't all that hungry anymore. He sighed, cutting the pancake haphazardly. "We shouldn't have come here… I could've expected that." 

"I suppose so." Ford ate his sandwich, he looked as uncomfortable as Dipper felt. 

"We were going to go visit her grave anyways, so I guess it doesn't really matter…" 

They sat in silence until they were done. Birthdays weren’t the same without her. Ford wove Susan over to pay.

"Oh no, it's on the house. I'm still really sorry for earlier. I didn't know." Susan looked genuinely upset over her mistake and Dipper couldn't blame her.

Surprisingly, Dipper found himself able to talk without choking up. “It’s alright. It’s been about a year and a half now.”

Then, Dipper and Ford left to go to the graveyard. It wasn't too far to walk from the diner but the sun shone relentlessly. Did he put on sunscreen this morning? No. Great, hopefully he wouldn't get a sunburn. 

On the way, they picked up a bouquet of lilies and roses for Mabel's grave. It was the least they could do for her, to make sure she was loved and not forgotten.

Dipper sat near the grave, staring at the pink petals. Of course he wished she was still there but he couldn't turn back time. He had to accept it. Mabel wanted him to be happy and he would try. He promised it.

Ford sat down next to him but they didn't talk.

When Dipper felt it was time to leave, they went back to their car to drive back to the shack. Not the best birthday he ever had but it was also only the second one alone. The last one was a blur in the back of his head which he‘d rather forget.

He read for the rest of the day since he didn't have anything better to do until the evening. Dipper flipped the page as Bill appeared next to him, shoulder to shoulder, smiling subtly. 

The boy looked at the demon in curiosity. He usually had something to shout at him right away so the silence was… nice?

"Go on, I'm not here to bother, I just thought maybe you'd feel a bit better with someone at your side." 

Dipper wholeheartedly appreciated that. He leaned against Bill and continued to read.

Of course, Bill couldn't resist playing with Dipper's curls. The soothing motion even lulled Dipper to sleep at one point until he was woken up by Ford calling him to dinner. To his surprise, Bill was still next to him, his hand in Dipper's hair. 

"Get your own curls, you scoundrel." He slapped at Bill's hand with a smile, knowing he would miss, and snuggled closer to Bill. He shouldn't, but friends could cuddle too, right? Right. Then it was fine. 

"But yours are perfect already!" 

"Not my problem!" He yawned, putting his head on Bill's shoulder. "Didn't you wanna take me somewhere?"

"Yes! We should actually head out soon." Bill got up, exerting a whine from Dipper. Adorable.

The boy pouted, hugging the blanket. "It's getting dark, isn't it a bit late?" 

"Not at all, actually. We'll arrive at the perfect time, so get up!" 

Dipper sighed and lifted himself out of bed, stretching his arms and legs. "I'm gonna have to eat dinner though, don't exactly wanna explain this to Ford."

"Seems reasonable enough."

The demon waited until Dipper was done eating and had excused himself to go take a walk. Finally, they met outside.

The boy took a deep breath, the air was still warm even though the sun had set and it was getting darker. The sky shone in shades of dark purple and red, cut off by treetops. "It is pretty nice out here."

"You're gonna like where we're going even more!"

Bill strode through the foliage and Dipper walked beside him. He thought about taking the demon's hand but ultimately decided not to. "How far is it?"

"Not terribly far but it's a bit."

Dipper could hardly see anything anymore and almost tripped on roots or rocks a few times. "Ugh, I should've brought a flashlight."

Wait… who needed a flashlight if they could just- 

He stood still for a second and closed his eyes, holding out his hands. When he opened them again he directed his energy to his fingertips. "Light."

And a ball of light whirred to life, floating over his palms. 

Bill had turned around to check what was going on with Dipper, about to ask if everything was fine. Pride welled up in his chest when he saw the boy holding magical light. "Wow, well done!"

"Thanks." Dipper smiled, keeping the light on one hand and catching up with Bill. "Wouldn't be possible without you though!"

"Smooth, Pines."

After about half an hour of walking, now with less stumbling thanks to the light, they reached a cave entrance.

"Here we are!" Bill grinned, gesturing for Dipper to enter.

Dipper was a bit disappointed at first, he had envisioned something else. "Another cave? What, do you have some sort of fetish?" He stepped inside, it looked like a regular cave.

The demon chuckled. "I sure do but caves aren't it." He followed Dipper. "Turn off the light, it'll be more of a surprise then."

"Okay?" He let it fade out and they were lulled into complete darkness. Bill started to walk again and he followed. Or rather, tried to follow. He couldn't see a thing. "H-hey wait! I can't see where you're going!"

"Oh, right!" Bill went back and grabbed Dipper's hand. "You don't need to see for now."

Dipper was glad it was dark because his face definitely grew warmer. He had felt Bill's hand before but it just seemed… nice in his. Like it belonged there.

They wandered deeper into the cave until Bill stopped. A tiny bit of light shone down on them from above and they could see a few stars through the hole in the ceiling.

He felt underwhelmed, why would Bill bring him to a dark cave to look at the stars when they could see so many more of them elsewhere? "Is this it…?"

But Bill didn't answer. In fact, there was no need for an answer when the moon slowly pushed itself into the open ceiling, it's light beams hit the ground. 

And the whole cave lit up in a bright cerulean, the light bounced off into crystals that decorated the walls. The cave glowed and sparkled in stunning brilliance. 

Needless to say, Dipper was speechless.

"Did you really think I'd just show you another boring cave?" Bill grinned, putting his arm around Dipper's shoulder. The boy was completely mind blown, his jaw hanging slack as his gaze wandered over the magical crystals. "Hello? Dream demon to Pine Tree, anyone there?"

"S-sorry I- it's just… wow." Dipper turned around to see more of the crystals. Somehow they seemed familiar. "Wait, is that where the crystal I carved into came from?"

"Smart you are, Pine Tree! Yes, the crystal is indeed from here."

"Wow… I mean, I wish I could've seen this sooner but… it _is_ a great present. Thank you."

"You're very welcome." He let Dipper go so he could explore the cave freely, but he stayed nearby anyways.

Dipper sat down to take a closer look at the crystals, running his fingers over them ever so carefully. It was silent except for the wind and a few noises up above until Bill spoke up.

"It's odd how our fates are intertwined like this, isn't it? So many universes yet I'm somehow in this one. With you."

"True. It's crazy to think how big one universe is. And where even are the other universes located?"

"Not even know that, I've only dabbled in two."

"There must be so many possibilities. Like, is there a universe where everything is the same as in this one but Mabel is the one with the hallucinations? Is there one where you're not real and I'm actually hallucinating?"

Bill decided to mess a bit with Dipper. "If that's how it works, then there's also one where we have a son called Aden." 

"W-what? How would that even work?"

"Magic." Bill winked at the boy with a grin who looked like he had seen a ghost. "I'm just joking! I know a lot but not everything."

Dipper let out a sigh and shook his head. 

"There would also be several where I'm a pirate captain and you fell for my stunning looks."

It couldn't hurt to join in on the fun. "I bet you're an insane ass in that one. And drunk most the time. And I stabbed your shoulder because you didn't get enough sleep."

"Now you're getting it! Of course I'm an insane ass of a captain, what else would I be?" 

"True, true." Dipper smiled as he got back up. He walked over to Bill but the moonlight faded and the cave went dark.

"Well, looks like it's time for bed."

And so they headed back, chatting about alternate universes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We‘re slowly creeping towards the finish line of this fic and tbh I‘m gonna throw a party when this is done. I learned so much while writing and editing this that it hurts looking at the story structure of this. I was so sure I had it all figured out but I totally didn‘t-
> 
> I can‘t wait to move on and tell a story about my ‘own‘ Bill (if you‘ve seen my art, the thicc one, Deus, good ol‘ tiddy man) and have proper arcs with that tasty payoff. It accidentally turned into a mafia au, so if you‘re into that, my Twitter and Instagram is where I‘ll post updates as soon as I‘m a bit further down the line.


	22. Suggestion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Accepted.

It was a warm September day, the air finally cooled from the brutal Summer much to Dipper's likes. He hated the heat, he'd rather have icy temperatures and run around in several cozy jackets than wanting to rip his skin off because it was too hot.

On the topic of jackets, Dipper was going through his closet to determine if he needed to buy anything. He owned a few jackets but they were either torn, too small, not waterproof or too thin to make any difference in winter. He exhaled, throwing the ones he definitely couldn’t use anymore on his chair and put the other ones back into the closet.

"Bill?"

Within a second the demon stood behind Dipper, leaning over his shoulder and talking right next to his ear with a smug smirk. "At your service."

Despite being proud he didn't flinch this time, adrenaline shot through him. "You just can't stop doing that, can you?" He turned his head to Bill, clearly annoyed, but his expression turned into something else at the realization of how close their faces were. 

"Nope!" Bill loosely slung his arms around him.

"U-uhm…" Dipper coughed, heart drumming. He took a step away from Bill, his form easily slipping through Bill's incorporeal arms. "Anyways- I wanted to ask if you're up for a trip to the mall? My jackets aren't exactly fit for winter or rain."

Bill's chest stung when Dipper backed off but he masked it behind a toothy grin. "Sure thing!" Had he done something wrong? Was he being too pushy? He should probably respect the boy's personal space, humans were obsessed with that apparently.

Soon enough, they stood in front of the mall. There weren't too many people but enough to make Dipper feel uncomfortable. Why couldn‘t he be more like Mabel, who never had any issues with being around people? He preferred quiet, less busy places.

The demon sensed Dipper's discomfort and put his hand on his shoulder. "It's just some random people, you'll be fine. If anything happens you can always let me take over and show them a lesson." 

Dipper scoffed at that but a gentle smile found his lips. "Yeah sure, I'll let you do that when I feel like checking out prison." He headed inside.

"Excuse you! I would never let us get caught! We'd live the criminal life and become wealthy by assassinating rich asses and then making smart investments, building up a drug cartel  _ and  _ a casino chain."

He laughed at that. "This is your idea of the perfect life as a human?"

"Yes! Making money and never having to lift a finger unless someone is pissing me off!"

"So I better be careful, huh?" He smiled until a woman shot him a confused look. Did he forget to put on pants?

Oh wait, nobody else could see or hear Bill.  _ But  _ Dipper did bring earbuds and a phone. He popped one into his ear and voila, nobody questioned a young adult talking to someone on his phone. 

"No, not you. I like you too much to want to harm you. In fact, I'd rather take care of you and make sure nobody else does you harm."

That was kinda cute. "Sure." He entered a store that didn't seem too crazy for him and looked around to orient himself. He was lost in a sea of clothes without a silver compass. "Do you see jackets?" 

"Right there." Bill pointed into a direction in which Dipper couldn't see much because of how high the clothing racks were. He led the boy through the maze of fabric until they arrived in the jacket section. Or rather, the suit jacket section.

"No, not this kind of jacket."

"Huh? Why not?"

"For one, I don't need a suit jacket, I need a jacket to protect me against the weather like rain, snow and wind and secondly, suits are just uncomfortable." Dipper frowned when the thought of him in a suit crossed his mind. He had to wear one for graduation and that one wedding he was dragged to by his parents. The whole day he couldn't think about anything else except how much he wanted to get out of it.

Bill scoffed, straightening his suit. "You haven't worn a good one yet, then! I'll tell you what, slacks are waaaay more comfortable than the tight jeans the youth likes to wear these days."

"Well, I still have no need for a suit and I don't want to buy a suit that was made specifically for me-"

"Bespoke," Bill threw in.

"Whatever. They're too expensive. Now let's find the jackets."

The demon sighed and looked at a suit he passed by. "Ironed down lapels and polyester, how sad the suit industry has become…" He proudly brushed over his peaked lapels and then followed Dipper.

The boy found the type of jacket he needed and picked up one. It was a dark blue with fur lining the hood. Wait. He checked the label, 'Faux Fur'. Good. "Alright I have one."

"Is this it? You're just gonna pick the first one?" 

"Yeah." Dipper walked towards the cashier. Well, kind of. He didn't exactly know where the cashier was.

"Oh that's boring! You don't just go to a mall for one jacket."

"I mean, that's what I came here for. What else would I get?"

Bill looked around, his eyes fell on a knitted pullover with a pine tree design all over it. "What about that?"

Dipper walked over and looked at it. "It's pretty but…" He checked the labels, all above his size. "They're way too big."

Bill looked at Dipper with his brows pulled up, then at the huge jacket in his hand and back to Dipper. 

Dipper finally gave in with a resigned sigh. "Okay, I'll try it."

The demon smiled, pleased, as he brought Dipper to the changing area. He waited outside while Dipper changed. He  _ could _ take a peek to make the boy flush a cute pink. The fabric of the curtain was already between his fingers, but wait- What if Dipper would get upset like he had this morning? An uncomfortable feeling came with the memory and Bill took a few steps back.

After a while, Dipper finally slid the curtain open. "How do I look?" He bit his lip and his gaze wandered to the ground. The pullover was a bit big on him but all in all very comfortable and it looked nice too. 

Something in Bill jumped as he saw his Pine Tree step out, nervous and chewing on his lip. Absolutely adorable. The hoodie didn't help either, he could barely see Dipper’s fingertips. Too sweet.

"Bill?" Dipper fumbled with the seams of the pullover, glancing at the demon who seemed to have left this world mentally. 

"Oh- Right, what did you ask?" 

He snickered, pushing his hair out of his eyes. He needed to get that cut sometime. "How do I look?"

"You look great! Adorable! It really suits you."

"I guess you being speechless proves that, huh?" He found Bill‘s reaction funny, flattering even.

Bill was a bit embarrassed the kid managed to do that to him but then again, who cared? Dipper could know he thought he was cute. He stepped closer to him and touched the arm of the pullover. "The material feels really good too."

"Yeah, I'm actually glad you made me try it on." Dipper got changed again. He walked to the cashier which he only found because there was a big sign pointing towards it on a wall.

"See! I would make a very helpful demon boyfriend!" 

Dipper stopped for a second, his heart leapt and his stomach followed suit. Boyfriend. "I-I don't know about the boyfriend part but you are helpful." Blood rushed through him but he ignored it, putting the pullover and the jacket on the counter.

The woman working there greeted him vaguely and scanned the articles, handing them over to Dipper after he paid. 

They walked out of the shop and Dipper decided he needed some ice cream which wasn't very hard to get at all. Raspberry sorbet, yum.

"It kind of looks like if you took unicorn intestines and blended them together," Bill commented when Dipper received his cone. "But I am jealous, you humans figured out your food stuff."

"Ew! Only you would say something like that!" He smiled and licked over the scoop, letting it melt on his tongue until only the seeds were left. That's how he knew they didn't just throw in a bunch of artificial flavors. However, he couldn't get the blended unicorn intestines out of his head.

"Not true, morbid humans actually exist." 

"I'm glad I haven't met any…" Dipper silenced when he saw two men in police uniforms approach. One short and stocky with dark skin and sunglasses and one tall but lanky with fair skin. The Gravity Falls sheriff and deputy. 

"Dipper, we haven't seen you around in quite a while!" Sheriff Blubs, the shorter one, held out his hand.

He shook it hesitantly, handshakes were nothing he liked at all. Unless maybe if it was Bill. "Yeah, college and all that. But I live here now, just haven't been out a lot."

"I see, I see. We're actually trying to find someone who might know more about the recent forest fires. You live in the woods, have you seen anyone suspicious?"

"Recent? How recent?"

"It started a few weeks ago, there have been several cases and we're trying to find out what's going on. We're thinking that it's probably just some stupid teens, you know how they are, or ignorant campers."

"Huh, yeah someone must be at fault for that, but I haven't seen anyone around. Do you have a map?"

Durland, the lanky one, pulled out his phone, a map of the forest with the fire areas marked pulled up on its screen. 

Dipper hummed in thought, those weren't touristy areas at all and probably too deep in for teens with no real motive to wander into. Well, rare things did happen on occasion but he couldn't shake off the bad feeling that bubbled up. He could, however, deliberately decide to ignore it. "Sorry, I can't help you but I'll let you know if I catch onto anything." 

They wove after him as he left and he smiled, licking at his now fairly melted sorbet. They were nice. 

The next day, Dipper attempted to make lunch only because Bill wanted him to take better care of himself  _ and  _ because they went all out of instant noodles. He chose the easiest meal, pasta with tomato sauce. All he had to do was boil the pasta and heat the premade sauce. 

"You're doing well! It's not that hard." Bill cheered him on during his attempt at cooking which was actually very appreciated. 

Dipper actually didn't mess up anything this time. He poured the pasta into the strainer and put the pot with sauce on the table. Now he only needed plates. 

He opened the cupboard that was supposed to have plates in it but to his disappointment it was empty. "Great, I cooked but I don't have plates… they must all be in the dishwasher."

"Do you not have more plates? You used to have four people here."

"True but Ford replaced all of the old dishes with fewer new ones." Then it hit him, Ford hadn't thrown the old one's away in case they ever needed them. They were in a mostly unused closet in the living room. "Keep the food warm!" 

He ran over into said room, headed for the closet but then his foot caught onto a box and he fell, luckily landing on the couch. "Oof-"

"Are you okay?" Bill called from the kitchen, peering around the corner of the wall to check on Dipper.

"Yep! I just tripped over something." He got back up to see the culprit. It wasn’t just any box. He picked it up. This was the delivery Ford had gotten earlier this year. 'Dungeons, Dungeons and more Dungeons - The Starter Kit'. Ohhh...

He smiled as an idea came to his head. "What do you think about role playing?"

The demon's grin widened. "Role playing? I mean, I don't know about you, Pine Tree, but that seems a bit kinky considering where we're at right now." 

Dipper quickly pushed that thought from his mind. Nope. Too far. Definitely way too far. "Nooo, not  _ that _ kind of roleplaying! Like, you playing a character in a fictional world."

"Only if I can play a handsome succubus."

Dipper chuckled. "Alright, fine. But if you get too touchy I'll give you psychic damage."

"Sounds good enough to me! But you still have to eat first."

"Yeah, yeah." He said dismissively but internally he was giddy at the thought. He missed playing tabletop RPGs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who’s the most reliable person when it comes to updating every Monday? Spoilers, it’s me BICC.
> 
> I can’t wait to be done with all my college applications and work on more of my own stuff in June HHHH


	23. Charm Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s harder than that.

Dipper and Bill had settled down on his bed, dice, paper and pens now scattered all over it. He had given Bill the player's handbook and started to explain but Bill shushed him, eager to find out how to make a character on his own.

Dipper didn't mind at all, it gave him some time to work out a character and set up a loose adventure as long as Bill busied himself. Every now and then, Bill would ask a question or two about specific things and Dipper answered them. 

"Alright, I'm done!" 

"Huh? Already?" Dipper took a look at Bill's incorporeal character sheet. "Yeah, looks good. Are you sure you wanna play a Warlock though? They're a bit complicated for your first time."

"Complicated? Hah! You forget I‘m an ancient being." The demon grinned and leaned against the wall.

"So, what's his name then?"

" _ Her  _ name, she's a succubus." Well, not exactly but as close to a succubus as DDamD got. 

"Oh, okay. My character is also a girl by the way. Her name is Macey and she's honestly pretty similar to me except with slightly longer hair." Not that much longer to be fair, he brushed his hair out of his face. "Do you wanna describe your character to me so I can imagine her better?"

"I don‘t have to." Bill's lips pulled up in a devilish grin before he shifted, becoming less broad shouldered with very long hair tied into a high ponytail. Horns sprouted from his head, his facial features staying strong, albeit reading as more female. He was as tall as he had been before and still way stronger than Dipper, except he wore a very questionable 'fantasy medieval' type of outfit that exposed a lot of his chest. His female chest. "How do you like it?"

_ What just happened? _

Dipper sat there, mouth hanging open, not sure what to say  _ or  _ to think for that matter. It was a bit weird considering how he thought Bill looked like but definitely not worse than before. 

Bill cackled, reverted back to his usual look and appropriate clothes. "Demon got your tongue? I’m almost sorry, I didn't mean to break you like that."

"S-sorry that was just… unexpected."

"Oh it's fine. You can continue now."

The boy exhaled and took a second to collect himself. "So what's her name? Wait, let me guess… Jill? Bell?"

Bill leaned in closer, amused, whispering. "Willhelmina."

Now it was Dipper's turn to snort. "What? No that's a terrible name!"

"It's Germanic!" He scoffed as he put his hand on his chest as if offended.

"It's still terrible!" Dipper smiled at Bill who pulled a fake offended expression.

"No it's not!"

Their banter continued for a minute until Bill settled on Belle as his character's name. Dipper explained the basic rules.

"Okay, so where do you want Belle to be at, currently? Like, a normal location in town."

"Drinking and gambling at a tavern!" 

Dipper pulled up a brow but smiled regardless. "Alright, Belle is sitting in a tavern, drinking and gambling as she usually does, winning a few coins with her weighted dice set. Then, a girl enters the tavern. She has short curly hair, she's wearing fairly standard clothes and is carrying a backpack around. You recognize her as your friend Macey who got you out of prison a few times."

"What? Oh please, I wouldn't get caught!"

The boy shrugged and continued on. "She looks around and her face lights up when she spots you. She pushes through a few drunk people to join you at the bar. 'Hi Belle,' she says."

"Belle puts her arm around Macey and ruffles through her hair. 'What is it this time, shortstack?'" Bill actually put an arm around Dipper and messed with his hair to demonstrate.

"Hey!" Dipper squealed, trying to push Bill off lightheartedly.

"Was that in character or out of character? I can't tell."

"Both!" 

Bill let go off Dipper and sat properly. The boy took a moment to collect himself.

"Macey tells you that there's a wizardry tournament soon. She wants to compete but she needs a partner and asks Belle to help her out."

"Okay, so what's in it for Belle?" 

"The winners of the tournament get a spell scroll of whatever spell they want, even the rarest ones-“

"Boooring!" Bill yawned to prove his point.

_ "-and  _ a ton of gold," said Dipper with a triumphant smile.

"Now we're talking! Alright, she agrees to team up with Macey."

"So, Macey and Belle get registered for the tournament. They prepare and train every day-"

"Nah, Belle watches Macey train, she's already great at what she does. She totally doesn't just watch because of her huge crush on Macey." 

"...Are you implying something?" 

Bill had a sneaky grin on his face, his tone dismissive. "Not at all, don't know what you're talking about."

Dipper bit his lip. They really needed to have a chat about their feelings. If Bill wanted them to be more than friends, that would be complicated. "...Sure. Well, during training every now and then other competitors come by to chat. Most of them are very friendly and nice but there's one in specific who keeps telling Macey how bad she is with her spellcasting."

"Can Belle kill him?"

Dipper let out a long sigh. "Yes, but only if she wants to end up in jail or getting executed." He shot Bill a pleading look to say 'please just comply for now'.

"Fine, fine. I make sure to intimidate the hell out of him though." Bill rolled a dice to determine if he succeeded at intimidation or not. "15."

"Alright, he seems fairly intimidated and leaves Macey and Belle alone for the rest of the training. On the day of the tournament, they both get their weapons and equipment. No magical items are allowed so they make sure to leave those at home. They get checked up on by the guards of the tournament and are allowed to head inside the 'arena', a dormant volcano which sides are laced with passageways and rooms, housing riddles and various creatures that have to be overcome to win. Macey and Belle receive magical necklaces which track their position so they can be rescued if they faint or are at a high risk of death."

Bill listened closely as he imagined the scene, it was a pretty nice concept the kid came up with. "Belle is going to try to charm the guy who makes sure nobody starts too early." He rolled another dice. "Natural 20."

"What? How is your luck this good? You already rolled insane numbers on your stats." 

"What can I say, I'm just a lucky kinda guy." 

"Except for getting trapped in my head, yeah."

"Well, I don't think it's that bad anymore though. I do like having a… friend." He looked at Dipper, his eyes being as sincere as they could be.

Dipper smiled, he was glad Bill felt that way, but he hoped it really wasn't more. They should talk. "I don't mind you either except when you try to scare me about… hm, let's see… every day? Bill I-" 

"Rude! It's not  _ that  _ much!" Bill slapped Dipper's shoulder in a playful manner. "Okay, back to the game."

"Actually… I need to talk to you about something."

"Huh? What is it?" Bill picked up on the sad note buried in Dipper's voice and worried.

"I… I think we really shouldn't be more than friends. It just won't work out."

What? No, Bill must've misheard that. "I don't understand…?"

"Bill, we can't be in a relationship. You're a demon, I'm a human. You're immortal and I'm not. It won't work." It felt so wrong to say but he knew it was true. 

"What?  _ Why _ ?? We can make it work. I'm sure there's a way to make you im-" 

" _ No.  _ I don't want to be immortal, Bill," Dipper deadpanned.

"But what about your feelings…? Did that kiss mean nothing to you." Bill was shocked, he couldn't realize that Dipper actually said this. 

Dipper quieted down, eyeing the dice he fiddled with. "Look, we will both be hurt if we decide to be together. I will die one day and you don't deserve to go through that loss."

The demon considered it for a moment, then sighed. The kid was right. If he didn't want to be immortal, if there was even a way to achieve that, then he would have to suffer through his loss. But that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt like hell to lose him as a friend. "I would still mourn if you die as a friend regardless."

"Please don't make this harder for me…"

The kid was dead set, huh? "I… alright. Not more than friends, I got it…" Bill bit down his disappointment, the pain and the sorrow that came with it. Dipper didn't understand. Surely he would change his mind. Right? Or did Bill not mean as much to him as he thought? Had that kiss meant nothing at all?

But Bill's thoughts were interrupted by Ford who walked into the room, eyeing the DDamD box and then Dipper. Again? Seriously Fordsy, how can one flesh sack be so intrusive?

"Who are you playing with?"

"I uh- nobody!" He barely had any time to digest the conversation he had with Bill. 

"Dipper, I know you've been keeping something from me for a while now. Screaming all of the sudden? Talking when nobody else is there? Did you think I wouldn't notice?" Ford was a bit disappointed by the apparent lack of trust Dipper had in him. 

"...It's my hallucinations."

"Well then why do you keep trying to hide it or say it's nothing? Doesn't make much sense to me."

Dipper shot a look at Bill, he wasn't sure what to do.

"At this point you might as well just tell him…"

The boy looked back at Ford and then at the ground, tugging on the bottom of his shirt. "You have to promise me that… that you won't freak out or anything… and not be angry."

Now the older man looked concerned. "Alright. I promise."

"On the day I came here, a demon visited me in my dreams. A-and he's been in my head since I was born. He's why- he's why I have hallucinations."

"And you're sure he's not just another hallucination?" Ford didn't seem very surprised at all. In reality, he was shocked but he wanted to make sure Dipper was fine and not worry him. 

Weight lifted off of Dipper's shoulders, relieved that Ford handled it well. He nodded. "He even taught me how to use magic." He opened his palm, focusing his energy and whispering 'light', making a small ball of light float above his hand.

Now Ford couldn't help himself but let out a gasp. "How-" He got closer, kneeling down to look at the light, to poke at it. "Why didn't you say something earlier? You know how much the supernatural interests me." He didn't sound angry at all, just curious and intrigued. 

"I wasn't sure how you'd react… and I didn't want to endanger Bill of course- Bill is the name of the demon." 

"Can he hear me?"

"Clear as day, Fordsy." He tried to sound lighthearted but very clearly failed.

Dipper looked at Bill with a halfhearted smile and then turned to Ford. "He can hear and see you but you can't hear or see him. He's sort of… stuck to my mind."

"And you two get along?"

"Yes, we've become...  _ friends _ , actually. Demons can be decent."

"I agree. The church and various religions all painted them as evil but every person or being human's deem to be evil usually have other sides too. It‘s never just black and white."

Dipper nodded in agreement.

Ford got out a notepad and clicked his ballpoint pen. "Sooo, this Bill wouldn't possibly mind answering some questions, would he?"

Dipper chuckled. Of course Ford would want information, how could he have thought anything else?

They talked about Bill and random trivia until deep into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said I was gonna be free in June because the college application deadline ends? HAHAH they fucking moved it back a month nffnfvnfvjvf. Try finding an apartment in flippin BERLIN two months before the semester starts.
> 
> Well, either way I accidentally wrote a whole chapter for the next story I’m planning and it’s straight up better than all of this fanfic combined so take that for what you will.


	24. Detect Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Further investigation needed.

Dipper typed away at his laptop in the living room, finally able to get proper words on the page. Coherent and structured, telling a bigger story. Surprisingly, no demon interrupted him.

Ford sat next to him on the couch, switching through the TV channels and sighing when they only showed garbage. 

Usually, Dipper would be very bothered by the noises of the TV _but_ he was so far in his own mind, creating stories about nonexistent beings that he didn't even notice when the local news went on. He yawned, a bit tired still.

"That's very odd…" Ford frowned at the TV, fumbling with the remote to turn up the volume. 

The stern and loud voice of the news reporter snapped Dipper out of his head, eyes fixating onto the TV. They talked about a topic that Dipper hadn't grasped quite yet since he didn't pay attention before. 

"We detected an increase in fires around the area. Very unusual for this season, the fires should be decreasing and they don't seem to be unrelated to the weather."

"Actually, Blubs and Durland asked me if I knew anything about it. They said it's campers or some edgy teens. Honestly, at this point it might just be climate change."

"But it's not hot anymore and the humidity is rising again so that makes little sense." Ford grabbed his chin, stroking his thumb over the stubble. "Maybe they're related to those fires from months back. I did wonder why they suddenly seemed to get less, obviously excluding normal wildfires."

Right, Dipper hadn't told Ford about their victory over the other demon yet. "Um… actually, that's not possible."

"What do you mean?"

"So, those fires were actually caused by a demon-"

Ford shot up from the couch instantly, rushing into the hallway. "Then we need to be prepared!"

Dipper flinched at the sudden action. "No need! It's dead now!" He shouted so Ford could understand him from wherever he had ran off to. "Bill and I took care of it." Speaking of Bill, the demon had been very quiet that day. Too quiet.

Heavy footsteps came back his way and the old man peeked around the corner of the hallway, now heavily armed, special goggles on and pointing a gun to the floor. "Oh… Well, this is unnecessary then." He took off the goggles and looked at the gun. "Might keep this around, just in case.

Dipper smiled, shaking his head.

"I will have a look at the new fires though, maybe they are just normal wildfires or some idiots fault." He marched to the door, firearm in hand.

"Leave that gun here, though."

"Good point, Dipper."

When Ford was gone, Dipper thought it to be a great time for checking up on Bill. Something had to be wrong for him not to show any sign of life at all. 

He went upstairs and sat on his bed. "Bill?" He waited for a while but only heard the wind and rustling leaves outside. "Bill, are you okay?" 

After a good minute or two, he still hadn't gotten an answer. What if Bill was being attacked by something? Worry rushed through him even though it was unlikely. He surely would've been able to contact him. Maybe he found a way to leave Dipper's mind? No, couldn't be. He probably just meditated and didn't notice Dipper's calls. He was fine for sure.

But the worry kept tugging, pulling on him. 

He needed to check on Bill.

Dipper lied down, pulled the blanket over himself and got himself comfortable. He could only find Bill when he wasn't awake, so a nap would be perfect. He had been tired anyways.

Sleep didn't come to him very fast. In fact, it took him quite a while to finally go under. 

"Bill?" His worried voice echoed through the hallways of the palace. He wasn't exactly sure where he was, sometimes he seemed to enter the mindscape in different parts of the palace. 

Dipper wandered around, feet hitting soft carpet or pulsating marble. All the doors he passed were locked, he tried to open them but to no avail. He bit his lip, something was definitely not right. Then he took a turn and his surroundings finally felt familiar. The library wasn't far and from then on he knew his way.

Soon enough, he stood in front of the giant door, closing off the throne room from him. He pulled on the huge golden handle but it was way too heavy for him to ever get open. "Bill? Are you here?" Instead, he banged the handle against the door, the harsh sound of it echoing far. "It's me, Dipper!"

Still, nothing. "Bill, I'm worried… if you're in there, please tell me." 

Dipper expected there to be no reaction but to his surprise, one wing of the door opened just enough for him to slip through. 

Bill sat on the throne, slouching into himself, head leaning onto his and a frown on his face. 

When his eyes fell onto the demon, Dipper sighed and for a second his worries faded away. However, they came back at an instant as soon as he registered the frown. He walked over to Bill rather fast. "Hey, what's wrong?" 

"It's nothing…"

Bill clearly avoided looking at Dipper and it bothered him to think Bill was hiding something from him. "No, seriously. What's wrong?" He pushed himself up on the unoccupied armrest, putting his hand onto Bill's shoulder.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"...does it have to do with me?"

No answer came. And that was good enough of an answer for Dipper. He sighed. "Look, if this is about the relationship thing, I'm sorry but we really can't. You're a demon, I'm a human. You said yourself how it goes."

Bill stayed silent, frowning away from Dipper, hurting more at the boys words.

"I'm sorry, but that's just how it is. Neither of us would be happy in the end. You don't want to sacrifice your immortality and I don't want to become immortal so you'll have to accept this." Dipper himself was upset about it but he couldn't help it either. In fact, his heart ached, shouted at him to abandon all rationality and just go for it. But Dipper couldn't help it, he was a fairly rational person. Letting his feelings control him would be stupid and only end in pain.

Bill didn't budge, didn't say a word. He continued to glare at one of the aquariums and the many fish inside. Maybe a little genocide would lift his spirit.

After a while of waiting for an answer with a sad frown on his face, Dipper concluded Bill wanted to be left alone. Hopefully Bill could come to terms with this. He went to the library to read for as long as he was still asleep, which wasn't very long at all.

Ford knocked on his door, coming in before an answer could be given. "Sorry to rouse you, but I found something."

"Hmm." Dipper mumbled inaudible sentences into his pillow before rubbing his eyes and sitting up, his voice sleepy. "What?" 

"I headed out to the forest, remember?" 

Dipper nodded at that, stepping out of bed and combing through his hair to get it out of his face. 

"Wait, we'll discuss it downstairs, I took pictures." Ford headed out of the room, foot falling onto the first step. "And make sure Bill is there, maybe he has a clue."

The boy let out a frustrated groan. "Bill, I know you're not in the mood but we need you here. Well, Ford does." He still didn't get a response, but he felt Bill's energy shifting closer. He was there for sure, just moody.

Dipper walked down the creaky stairs and wandered into the kitchen to get some tea. "You can start talking Ford.”

"Alright. So, when I went out everything seemed normal at first but then I noticed how silent it was. No birds chirping. No animals around. Nothing anywhere, like last time. The burnt area I found first was similar to the one we saw months back, except bigger. I looked around to investigate and there was a smaller part of nature that had been burnt, almost like a path, leading to the next bigger burnt clearing."

"That… actually does sound odd but it could be by accident though. Maybe the wind blew into that direction or something." His intuition told him that this wasn't right. But it couldn't be another demon, there was no way.

"I thought like that too at first, but it was too slim for the wind to be at fault _and_ the next clearing had another path that burnt through to yet another clearing. This was systematic."

"Okay, but who would do that and why?"

"I have no idea but I found this." Ford unlocked his phone, opening the gallery and handing it to Dipper. 

It was a picture of the clearing, then the smaller path. He couldn't see anything weird about it at first but then the next picture was a close up of the ground. It had almost triangular marks that followed a pattern, like footsteps. 

"Obviously this is not an animal but that's not what human feet look like either."

True. Dipper stared at the picture until it clicked. "Those could be heels though."

Ford's face lit up before he slapped it. "How could I not have thought of that. Obviously."

Bill spoke up. Loud, clear and unhappy. 

"Pyronica."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna attempt to crank out updates faster because I rEALLY wanna focus on the upcoming story dkndksn it has actual plot.


	25. Snare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setting the trap.

"Pyronica?" Dipper was very confused.Who was that supposed to be?

Ford looked even more confused, not being able to hear anything Bill said. "What?"

"Pyronica is an old… friend from the other universe."

"So you know her?" Maybe Bill could have a chat and tell her to stop burning down the forest. If they were friends she would probably comply, right?

"Yes. She and I met waaay back. She caused chaos by setting things on fire and I recruited her amongst some other demons to help with my plans. She was there during Weirdmageddon. Very hard to miss, bright pink and on fire."

Dipper rummaged through his mind, the part he had locked away for years because it was what had caused him to become an outsider. 

_ Weirdmageddon. _

_ The cross in the sky. Red. _

_ Standing on top of the church.  _

_ Ford aimed at Bill. _

_ He missed his shot. _

_ The church got blasted by a laser coming from Bill. _

_ Behind him were other demons, one of them bright pink, arms and legs on fire, horns and one eye. _

He shuddered, stroking his arm with his hand. "Yeah, I remember her."

"She might look different though, that one was my universe's version of her and I don't exactly know her here. But I do know that she's not just gonna be here for a party." 

"And why would she be here? And how?"

"My theory is that she's angry because we killed this universe's Bill." Worry laced into Bill's voice. He didn't want to say it but he had a bad feeling Pyronica might be a bigger problem than his other self had been. "I think she got in through the tear that our ritual opened, but it must be shut now. I'm surprised it could transport two beings of this amount of power without collapsing in the process."

"Oh… Yeah, that does make sense, what do you think?." He looked over at Ford, awaiting an answer.

Ford blinked at Dipper. "Were you planning on filling me in or...?" 

The boy snorted, pushing his hair back. "Right, I forgot you can‘t hear him." 

"Absolute brainiac." Bill shook his head with a smile, sitting down on one of the chairs and putting his feet up on the counter. "Don't forget your tea, by the way."

"Oh crap-" Dipper rushed over to his cup of tea, he got the tea bag out and took a sip, instantly regretting it and coughing. "Hot- and strong. So strong." He turned on the tab to get some cold water into his mouth all while Bill laughed at him.

Ford smiled, amused as well but he tried to hide it when Dipper turned back around, sighing.

"Don't laugh at me, we're all gonna get scorched if we don't come up with a good plan." He took a seat next to Bill, drinking his now diluted tea and looking over at Ford. "Maybe take another chair, Bill is on that one and that would be kind of weird."

The older man nodded, sitting down on a different chair. "So, tell me all about it."

Dipper told Ford everything Bill had said to him very efficiently. Occasionally Bill added some extra information for Dipper to deliver. 

"So, do we need weapons?" 

"I guess they wouldn't harm us, would they?" The boy's gaze wandered to Bill, who nodded in approval. He turned to Ford. "Yeah, weapons are fine. I mean, I would prefer to settle this without violence but I also don't know Pyronica..."

Said man got up and hurried into his basement. Dipper and Bill heard lots of rattling, objects that hit the ground, rummaging, until heavy footsteps came back up. They both glanced at each other with a questioning look on their faces. 

Ford walked into the kitchen, carrying more weapons that Dipper could count, his eyes barely visible behind the stack he held. "I've waited for this my whole damn life."

"All those years of work weren't for nothing, huh?" Dipper smiled at his enthusiasm, at least someone was excited.

"I guess so." He put the guns down on the counter and some of them slipped onto the floor, shooting beams of energy at the walls which left behind stains. Ford sighed. "I just renovated this place…"

"So, we should figure out a plan on how to get rid of her." Bill was on edge, cleaning his fingernails from nonexistent dirt. 

"Get rid of her? What if she doesn't want any harm?" Dipper shuddered at the idea of killing another demon without even knowing if they wanted to harm them. It didn't seem very fair.

"Well, we can trap her and try to reason but I highly doubt she'd roam around here because she wanted a vacation. We're gonna need a lot of those crystals from that cave I showed you for that and you're gonna have to do a lot of carving on them."

Dipper nodded, that was at least better than straight up trying to kill her. It would be a lot of work but hopefully worth it. "How do we get her into the trap though? She won't just willingly step into it."

"Good question… As long as we don't know what she's after I can't really judge it."

The boy hummed in thought, worrying his lip."What if I volunteer as bait? If she wants revenge on me or you then she'll come."

" _ No, _ " said both Ford and Bill simultaneously.

He looked back and forth between the two. "But it might be our only option, we don't know what she wants, this is the safest bet."

It was silent for a bit, Bill and Ford thought about how this could work better and be less dangerous for Dipper.

"We might have an advantage if we're close to the statue and you can teach me how to shield myself with magic, I've read about that."

Bill nodded. "And when she goes into the trap we could pull her into the mindscape so your body is safe from her."

"Sounds good to me." Dipper looked over at Ford expectantly and Bill joined in.

Ford was very confused. "What?"

"Ugh I keep forgetting!" Dipper smiled while slapping his hands over his eyes. He explained the plan this far to Ford who agreed. "Okay, so what's next?"

Bill let out a contemplative hum. "I distract her and you exorcise her. Simple but efficient."

Dipper nodded, his eyes finding their way to Ford. "Wait, what does Ford do then?"

"He could try to weaken her body with magical water, I'll have to show you how to make that."

"What about the guns though? Are they all useless?"

"I'm not sure but he could try them on her too." Bill certainly didn't care to test them, too much wasted time and he was the only available demon at the moment.

"Okay, let me get this straight. I go to the statue, get the trap done, wait, when she comes and gets trapped we pull her into the mindscape, you'll also have to show me how to do that, Bill, you distract her while I perform the exorcism and Ford is a backup and tries to weaken her in the physical world?"

"Exactly. Now we just need to prepare."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got invited to talk to one of the colleges I’m applying for and the best part is I won’t have to be there in person bc of corona #quarantine is just normal hermit life and I vibe with it.


	26. Freedom of Movement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One trap doesn’t work on everything.

Bill and Dipper were well on their way to get some crystals for the demon trap they had planned the day prior. The forest was quiet, very quiet. Way too quiet. And they both knew why. The heavy air pressed down on them as they walked. Bill had made sure to take a path that was as far away from the fires as possible, if they ran into Pyronica now… Game Over. 

"And you really think a crystal circle will hold her back?" Dipper's voice shook from stress and anxiety. 

The demon felt sick at the thought that this was his fault. If he had just told Dipper the truth about the ritual earlier, they wouldn't have opened a rift for demons to enter the physical realm. And neither of them knew if she was the only one to come through, there could be other demons as well. "It will for sure if we keep her in the mindscape, don't worry."

Dipper knew Bill couldn't predict what would happen any more than he himself could but he felt comforted by his words nonetheless. "Well, let's hope it works out."

Soon enough, they entered the cave, this time with a flashlight so Dipper wouldn't get lost. The entrance area looked very plain, just rocks, stalagmites and stalactites cutting into the air like fangs. It looked creepy but as soon as Dipper got worried they were in the wrong cave, crystals started to grow out from the stone walls, floor and ceiling, sparkling in a beautiful array of colors when the cone of light hit them. "Woah… I know I've seen them before but just… it's so insanely pretty."

"I get you, very pretty indeed." Bill looked around, searching for crystals pure and big enough for their purposes. "This one's good… that one too… Oh! That one is perfect!"

The boy followed Bill, mentally noting the crystals he pointed at. The last one was an absolute beauty, big enough to hold with two hands, very clear but still colorful and iridescent. He kneeled down to look at it up close. "It's a shame we have to get it out of here. Kind of sad but better than being burnt to a crisp, so…"

"It's like robbing the crown pieces from an ancient museum, not that that would bother me to be fair. Did you bring the chisel and the hammer?"

"Obviously, otherwise this trip would've been kinda pointless." Dipper got out the tools to prove it.

"True. You can start to get that one out, I'll look around for more." Bill turned around, looking at the crystals.

In the meantime, Dipper carefully placed the chisel and gave it a gentle tap with the hammer. The crystal didn't budge. Another tap, nothing. Looked like he'd have to go a bit stronger.

Why hadn't they brought Ford again? Right, he persisted on checking all of his weapons. He'd bet Ford knew how to get the crystals off the rock better than he did. Dipper gave it a stronger tap, several stronger taps until it finally came loose. He picked it up, turned it in his hand. He knew he'd feel terrible if he messed up the carvings on any of the crystals. "First one is done." He carefully wrapped it into cloth and put it into his backpack.

"Oh, great! Come here, I've got another perfect one." 

So Dipper did. Again, a beautiful specimen that took several tries to get loose. It was also wrapped before being placed into his backpack. This process repeated multiple times until Bill decided that they were finally done.

On their way back, Bill demonstrated the runes they would use on the crystals. They were complicated and they needed so many of them. Dipper bit his lip. "What if we don't get them all done before she finds us? I mean, I need to practice carving the new runes and the actual carving will take a lot of time as well." 

"We could show Ford how to carve as well. Besides, we're safe and sound in the shack so she'll want us out in the forest. As long as we stay around the shack she's not going to attack us."

"The other demon got me out and then attacked us, how do you know she can't do that?"

"The other demon was me, the master of the mind. Her whole schtick is setting stuff on fire for no reason. She can't access your mind or dreams without the other demon."

"Alright…" Dipper brushed through his curls, sighing. He should stop worrying so much, Bill knew what he was doing.

"Also, we have the advantage of knowing her… sort of. She doesn't know us though. If I teach you water magic you're gonna have an advantage on her." Bill smiled, putting his hand on Dipper's shoulder. Wait, no he wasn't supposed to do that, not more than platonic. A frown crossed his face and he slid his hand off. 

"N-no it's fine, we're still friends…"

But Bill's hand stayed below, hanging from his arm. 

The next few days were spent practicing the new runes on stones and Bill teaching Ford how to carve runes in general, through Dipper obviously. He seemed to get the hang of it fairly fast, being used to runes  _ and _ carving from all of his research and self made 'demon repellents', which were all useless but at least gave him somewhere to start off from. 

Whenever Bill wasn't needed, he left, presumably to meditate so they wouldn't run out of power. Dipper felt lonely in those times. Sure, he could talk to Ford but it wasn't the same. He felt like something was missing again, when the feeling was gone he hadn't even noticed but now it was back. 

Dipper wanted to have Bill's arms around him again. Or his tentacles, even those were better than nothing at that point. His hands in his hair and just being there with him. Not talking. Talking. Both were fine with him.

But he knew it was wrong, he couldn't let the demon close or he wouldn't be able to ever let go. And he knew Bill wouldn't want to let go either. So he held himself back. Staying at a distance from the demon, he couldn't risk it.

Said distance was very noticeable to Bill when they trained. Dipper would back off if he got too close, not let Bill adjust his limbs to the right position and insist he could work it out himself when Bill could clearly tell that was a lie. Had he said something wrong? Done something wrong? Why did he even ask, of course. He did so much wrong that he shouldn't even be surprised. The kid finally realized how bad he actually was and now wanted his distance. 

Seemed fair enough but it also hurt, like a stab to the chest, but Bill wanted to respect Dipper so he didn't push his boundaries, staying his distance. It was probably for the better, even though it felt wrong. He missed being close to his Pine Tree, having silly conversations or intellectual ones. It was fine though, he deserved it. Dipper would find someone way better than him and be happy. Happier than he could ever be with Bill.

Finally, they were done with carving and training magic. Dipper knew how to use basic water spells to defend himself and Ford got all of his weapons fixed up and ready to use. It was time to make the last preparations.

They went out into the forest, crystals and weapons with them. It was cloudy and it might start to rain, a possible advantage against the demon they were up against. 

Dipper felt like throwing up, his stomach churned, protesting against his breakfast. He knew he shouldn't have eaten anything but Bill had insisted on it because he 'needed the nutrition'. The food wasn't of much use if he barfed it up either but whatever. Every fiber of his being already ran on adrenaline, his heart pumping faster than it should. It didn't help that the statue was getting closer with each step, his head started to hurt.

He shot a look at Ford, who didn't look better than him, surprisingly. He may have years worth of demonic research but he hasn't had to fight one yet. Ford caught his gaze and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I think we're close enough now." Bill stopped to walk, examining the ground to find a good spot for the trap. "Put it here, we can shove the crystals under the moss so she doesn't see them."

Dipper nodded, first laying out the crystals in the right order with Ford's help and then burying them under the bright green moss. He stepped back and the circle was barely visible. He probably wouldn't notice it if he didn't know it was there. "What now?"

"Now we wait. Sixer needs to hide somewhere and you should stay close to the circle." Bill sat down on a stone, tapping his nails on them. He was nervous as well.

Dipper told Ford to go and hide nearby, surprised when he pulled out a ghillie suit which he claimed was fireproof and sat down in a bush, partially behind stones. He could only make out Ford's face now and the stones made for great cover too. 

He sighed, worrying his lip until it bled and pacing around, his pulse jumping at every noise. As soon as the demon appeared, he'd have to dodge and counter attacks, lure her into the circle and hope he could manage to pull her into his mind. 

Easy. Yes. He could do it. Nothing easier than this. It would be fine. Easy.

"There's smoke coming from the north, get ready." Bill got up. "I'll enter your mind now to prepare, if something goes wrong I'll be back if you call my name."

Dipper nodded, panicking. And then, Bill was gone. He stood alone.

It would be fine. Easy. Totally easy. Mhm. Easy.

A feminine voice boomed through the woods, accompanied by the crackling of fire. "And who do we have  _ here _ ?" She broke through the trees, fire bursting through, bright pink with one eye, grin on her lips. She was three times the size of Ford, at least. "You're his host body huh? Poor boy! Why don't you tell him to come out?"

"I-I uh-" Dipper's voice got caught in his throat as blood rushed through his ears. He stumbled backwards. There was no way he could manage this.

"Not the talking type, are you? Well, I'm glad to get him out by force!" A sick grin spread on her lips, her hand whipping forward, grasping to grab him.

And he couldn't do anything. He screamed and held his arms up. Awaiting his ribs to be burnt and crushed at the same time. This was it.  _ This was it. He would die. _

But he heard a bang instead. 

He was shielded by a shield-like invention Ford threw in front of him a second ago. He grabbed it's handle and backed off further. He needed to thank Ford later.

"Oh, that thing won't last you very long!" She shouted, pulling back her arm, forming a fist to punch. It flew fast towards the boy, definitely strong enough to annihilate the shield.

Her fist stopped mid air. " _ What?" _

She had entered the trap.

A sigh of relief bubbled up but Dipper had no time. He needed to get her into his head. Fast. Closing his eyes as he focused his energy and mumbled ancient words Bill had taught him. 

Then he went limp.

And Pyronica did too.

Bill had been waiting for quite a while, growing anxious that something had happened while he was away. He almost returned to Dipper when he felt an immense surge of fear from his side but it quickly calmed and before he could even attempt to make assumptions about what had happened, the boy and Pyronica appeared. Now was no time for worrying. "Finally! I thought Pine Tree might've killed you all by himself!"

"Hah! That little twink? No, of course not! But I see you've taken human form as well, how cute!" 

"Let's not waste time and get straight to the business, what do you want?" Bill grinned but his words were as sharp as daggers.

Dipper remembered he needed to perform the exorcism, he went through the ancient string of words in his head. They could do this.

"Business? I don't want no business! I just want to tear you apart and eat up your power, that triangle bastard still had open business with me but since he's dead, you’re gonna have to make up for that!" Not wasting a second, she shot fire at Bill.

So exorcism it was. "Vgafp, P ark pos. Vgafp, P saun y-"

Pyronica laughed as she launched a beam of flame at Dipper. "Did you really think I'd fall for that!?"

"Dipper!"

Everything went black. For Dipper and for Bill.

It all went by in a flash.

Dipper was back on the ground.

Shield next to him.

Pyronica's body roared back to life.

And she broke through the circle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boi. Surprise update.


	27. Fire Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flames roar.

"Crap!" Dipper grabbed the shield. Fire blazed against it, the heat making it hard to breathe. He ran to the next tree, taking cover.

"She's immune to my weapons! Her weak spot is guarded! Ack!" Called Ford, crouching behind a rock to not be scorched.

"Come out, come out wherever you are! You know you can't hide forever, dummies!" Pyronica held a ball of fire in her hand, throwing it up and catching it again as she scanned her surroundings.

Dipper peeked out, eyes trained on her. "Wall of Water!" Water rushed at her on his command, hitting her leg.

She gasped in surprise, her leg extinguishing. "Ouch! How  _ rude! _ " She stomped it on the floor, reigniting. A fireball shot at the tree.

The impact knocked Dipper to the ground. His palms and face cut open on rocks and his entire back flared up in hot, searing pain. He cried out, trying to get up with blurry vision. 

There was a crack, coming from behind him. He turned around. The burning tree fell. He couldn’t move. He was doomed.

Dipper was flung to the side before it came crashing to the ground. 

Ford groaned out as he took a hit to his back, shielding Dipper from another fireball. Luckily his clothes were fireproof. He tried to get off of Dipper but he was stuck.

"Ford your leg!" 

"Agh- Don't worry about me!" He stomped against the tree with his other foot, trying to free himself.

"Naw, look at you, all worried like that! Just hand over the damn demon and I'll leave you alone!" 

Another bolt of fire sizzled through the air. Dipper barely had time to dodge and it hit right behind him. His vision got woozy. Everything hurt. He couldn't lose now.  _ He couldn't _ .

His head found the grass anyways and the smell of ash and burnt flesh slowly faded out.

Meanwhile, Bill sped through Dipper's mind, doors knocking open left and right. He was glad Dipper had made him take over before because this would've needed a considerable amount of time otherwise. He entered the black room.

Soon, he could hear fire. Feel grass beneath him and heat next to him. He gasped for air, coughing, taking in his surroundings. 

"There we go! It wasn't that hard, was it?" Pyronica towered over him, radiant as ever.

As the pink demon focused on Bill, Ford finally managed to get up, stumbling to take cover and aim.

Bill stood up, slowly, his eyes never breaking contact with her. 

"Have you considered giving up y-" A blue fire bolt silenced her, surging into her chest. Her grin only grew wider. "Ah- that actually hurts!"

Bill jumped over rocks to dodge her next move. Hearing her fist crash into the trees behind him. "We're not just giving up! Hng-" He coughed. Dipper's body wouldn't go for much longer. 

Ford couldn't do much but aim, waiting for the time that the fire on her neck would go out enough for him to hit.

Bill glanced at Ford. This wouldn’t do. He focused his power and summoned a dart of cerulean flames, small but sharp. It flew through the air like an arrow, hitting her right in the eye. 

The pink demon screamed in pain and anger. Balling her fists and hitting a tree that barreled into Bill. 

His bones splintered with a sickening crack. Pain pierced through him like poisoned daggers. This wasn't good. Several ribs were broken for sure, threatening to tear into his lungs. No,  _ Dipper's _ lungs. 

Pyronica prepared her final blow, fuelled by rage. There was no choice anymore.

“WAIT!”

She froze.

"I have a- a proposal! A deal if you will-" He coughed, blood splattered the ground. Dammit. All of his energy focused on keeping Dipper's body alive, healing the most fatal wounds slowly. 

"Oh? I'm  _ interested _ ." She purred, enraged still, her hand lowered and the flames calmed. Not enough for Ford yet.

"You leave these two humans alone."

"Alright, and?"

He sighed, this was the only way. "You get to kill me and keep my energy." His bones snapped back into place and he gasped. Blood vessels closing again.

"Deal!" Pyronica stepped closer, holding out her hand.

Bill’s eyes locked with Ford's for a split second. He Took her hand. It ignited in a purple fire before Bill felt himself being torn out of Dipper. 

When the boy came to consciousness again, he couldn't believe his eyes. Didn't want to believe his eyes. 

Bill was there, in Pyronica's grasp.

No. No this couldn't be happening.  _ No! _

And the next second, she shattered him like a bullet hitting a crystal. "NO! BILL NO!"

A faint hand brushed over his forehead and something touched his lips. 

Pyronica laughed but from one second to the next, her joy turned to agony as she screamed. 

Ford had hit. She was dead.

But it was too late. He was dead as well. 

Dipper cried out, slamming his fractured hand against a charred rock. Everything went black again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, F in chat.
> 
> See ya next Monday haHA-


	28. Banishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another plane of existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vigenere

_ Ciyt gwqrrw iif mql. Ilnm iacxwuqh? Jafrr esz ti? Ux hlnvulp eehvnq, ojlqxrw pnyg tf flr obsg mpwmrfx pf fxsjq mglfls.  _

_ Ifk U xuhvgub lv ycfxmf, jwmspr'g bu br nmuzc gh nefa opfl gaf drugu? _

_ "Ksh abvr naumpyr breqnlp ma afaimf." Tk mavprcwjlmp ihjcr muoaiq mirbcyo etnvf aal Tpxp gnsnrl syayaw, doanmzqh, vg bn nbllytg mp fvvv vgx jafrr ql jmqr ysoz. _

_ "Pwhhia!? Hi nb, vg, atmf fvsg jw h nmt fjsgicl, U hryjnvbwsk hb gpt omdvzk nge oe esuf xb uf ia pwhhia."  _

_ "B uhvvc fay utwe czgcqr gh ce ymkz qzve uhnv qvg xuhvgub, ehwmaz zoh i yyqeg vbnqqvhfi shs hrinlz." _

_ "Autu db ggb-"  _

_ Ux jtt tvuw mav zx uo tqnl tmz ubcx ids aj gaf mrugyuif. _

_ "B- Ph… V zwhxpl wjeq." Jasx wgtseq qfaa xux wovl opfl n ysojv, tlrsex iif mql xmg nq wvbz yqgbzoigqgu. "Ievm- Bxbtgax!?" _

_ "Xux pnr ifk aryr." J mnlw tkwreg vvaaixi.  _

_ "Jabt'f ids flvl!? Xhrzw hy M nge wug st U eg tml? V oga wmyefd, V azvgpq uf gbvw!" _

_ "Fay fapuyl tl, kif. Uvt lwm heorw ne gw jlfyeg uhr tszf xvff aal kv U xuhvgub A dayyw qug ggb gt gh b tral. H eiphod ppsuoi, vy zoh'zw davgaz os tacurt." _

_ "Uvt V nspxiq tod awo P'y lrkf, sb ezhf?" _

_ "M qho't gpauw cbn vnqmjzfeaw xhnb loq xrlu wna tloehlf ybc kbogrxeeq. Ggb seix zohz dpri shs aawloqv." _

_ "V- piag?" Jasx'w skvsgzsausa fprcpwk urgh doanmzusa tod zqdk oyebpsvbq, ouw ohey emdhjmaz b lvblsq. _

_ "M fxot lwm pzxb miag cfphielf, brksbei vm xohtv'cq frxo aa mszk sax goe ggb fs gtle bdwy. Flrkf wna bbex bgf snkjprmpx zoh psk fs ztle, ocl fay qben'g. Ifk ilrg uhr batq gnff, I ccl fay hi uo n kzhxprghe nvv fay qbfd fw lomx ohz cbcdk xmix. Uhnb ohe xux uefb sup cbn qafawk." _

_ Nmye xaf nmyushl. Ie ziq iq sywfr gpsu fmzx cug pw dmw n viiyl fvzigaflrak. "Vt, wb RPU zmkzqh jbuh gpw yuxhtm dvlf'a ksh? B lnre loqvr pbs aw ohk xutu ig egbxh'ix pprvwk m vvyu bl kzhzgr! Tod awl zggu t cit wfl qmgafr." _

_ V kzbooyxe. "Ghqdak ef viaeowk." _

_ "Gku, B daa'b kamrq rpu..." zclaqvrw Ciyt mupie ajs ozwhfl, onu I pwmsp yawfrfbsup lvf qeenwjfpl yjnr. Pw dayyw pfgmf bzhrkfsgqehfi zx. "To jpsa, ps V zft gw weuwg bo nbbzpzkaxts awo? _

_ "Fay pto db ezhfiixs ybc hsqefx. Uaxm gcqv n noiimjzq, qndf a amo vzi, jabtrdwy ksh wfsvzw." _

_ Ati qxnoa alhdiq tu mr qf kuwoxmirn. "Qvg'vr eftgqfn yi th? Kufb dpwi gabt?" _

_ "Vb ovgpqg'u br nspd xb ffsf eaat cbn bnq vga smix zoh i jlieew, pr jwmsp cbn sagpwy ni jbqeq wma aj rqjsgmfjq? M pto aezsusi gabt gwg." _

_ "UA! Rbgpnbvg, P'y jvgf- I'yt dlmzr."  _

_ "Hg cbcjzq." _

_ Lr pbs szwl fs qh bnlbzpzk nm bly, pmo? _

_ “U… lnof oam jlcyrlu.” _

_ Ig esz mr hgfxcmuaqh bgf, eimf mav zx. _

In the middle of November the air had gone cold, too cold to leave the house without a scarf or one would get sick. The sun had stayed hidden behind thick clouds and it rained a lot, the ground froze up at night.

Similar to the weather, Dipper had become cold. Shattered like an icicle hitting hard rock. His face seemed to be carved in stone, holding no emotion. Most of the time had been spent in his bed, hidden under several blankets to shield himself, to hide from the outside, to avoid any more pain than the ones he was in. He couldn't lay on his back properly and his chest ached if he laid on his stomach. His hands were sore and his legs screamed for a walk but all he could manage was to go visit the kitchen and the bathroom every once in a while. He had attempted to heal with no avail.

Ford visited his room on occasion, bringing him food and tea, taking with him the leftovers from the food he had brought previously. The first few times, he had tried to make conversation with Dipper but barely got any answers at all so he stopped eventually. He didn't stop to worry though, the creases between his brows deepened with each day Dipper spent like this. He could only hope for a miracle.

At one point, Dipper had fished out all the crumpled sketches of Bill from the trash can in hopes that he would come back somehow. He knew he wouldn't. He knew it was stupid and naive and only ever happened in fairy tales. And so he grabbed a lighter, holding it to the paper until it turned black as flames ate away at it. 

It hurt to watch. It was like seeing Bill die all over again, being eaten up by flames. Tears stung in his eyes. He put out the fire as it gnawed at Bill's foot.

During those days, those lonely days, Dipper realized how much Bill had actually meant to him, how much he had helped him, how much it was that he had lost. He regretted ever having pushed Bill away because he thought they would never be a perfect fit. He hadn't noticed back then how well they worked together without even trying. He hadn’t considered accepting their differences.

And it was ironic in a way. Dipper had pushed him away so Bill wouldn't have to see him die. Instead, Dipper saw Bill die. He had seen an ancient demon be wiped out. Right before his eyes. What were the chances? And what were the chances of him falling for that demon?

Dark circles had formed under his eyes, like the underbelly of heavy clouds. Any time he tried to get some sleep, his thoughts would start racing, throwing all the wrong decisions he had ever made into his face at once. Then, he would cry, silently, and sometimes, some blissful times, he would finally fall asleep. 

But it couldn't be that easy, could it? No. Dipper had nightmares. Every. Single. Time.

Stan sleeping on the couch right next to him. Until his breathing stopped. He would call the ambulance but they would come too late. He could never have saved him.

Then he would see Mabel. Hear her screams. Smell the smoke and singeing flesh. Every attempt he made to save her was for nothing. 

Bill was next. Fighting, trying to keep his body alive but sacrificing himself for Dipper. He tried to stop him but there was no way. He was always left on the forest floor, alone.

At last, there was Ford and his parents. They always died in a different way. Car crash, experiments gone wrong, murder, illnesses and so on. And Dipper was completely helpless each and every time.

But there was one person who never died, not once. He would be relieved that at least one person could live but not this one. It was himself. He didn't want to live anymore. He didn't deserve to live, not more than the ones who had died. The one thing he desperately wanted was to make it all stop. And he didn't know any other way to make it stop than death. But death wasn't to be taken lightly.

Whenever he sat up to cut his wrists or overdose or drink bleach, thoughts crossed his mind. They weren't intrusive like all the other thoughts he had had. They were calm. A relic from the past, from better times. 

_ 'Take care of yourself, and promise me to try to be happy, okay?' _

_ 'I'll try. I promise.' _

_ 'You weren't 'too weak', Dipper. You were strong, strong enough to pick the hard way instead of the easy one.You were strong for clinging to that last bit of hope that things will change.' _

Dipper could never get past that, not once. Instead, he would sob into his sheets. 

Since death wasn’t an option, he would need to act. 

On one day, a sunny day at that, he decided he had to change things himself. So he got up from bed and took a shower, which may not seem very hard to do but it cost Dipper a lot of energy. At least he felt vaguely human again afterwards. He even made an effort to brush his teeth, albeit fairly haphazardly as his thoughts wandered. Not to good places and for a second he willingly let them get to him until he remembered he needed to try to live. Try to be happy. For Mabel, Stan and Bill. So he pushed the thoughts away.

When he arrived in the kitchen, he was met by a very surprised looking Ford. "Oh I… I didn't expect you to come down. I was just getting your breakfast ready."

"It's…" Dipper coughed, his voice was croaky and raw. "It's fine…" He sat down at the table to eat the cereal Ford had prepared for him. Honestly, he wasn't sure why Ford was putting up with him. He must've been wondering why Dipper was so distraught by a demon dying. Either way, he was glad he wasn't all on his own or else he might've just starved to death. 

He put his spoon into the cereal. Huh, those were Mabel's favorite when they were younger. A small, fragile smile split his face.

Ford smiled too. Maybe a miracle was on its way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The key has 10 letters and is hidden in plain sight. 
> 
> Feel free to encode your comments with it so you don't spoil anything (and show how big brain thicc log u are).


	29. Reincarnate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate is relative.

Dipper had been thinking a lot over the past couple of weeks. They hadn't had a proper burial or any kind of mourning ceremony for Bill, obviously he didn't have a body and wasn't human so they couldn't exactly have contacted a normal burial agency or anything but Dipper felt like this needed to be done. Bill deserved a ceremony and he deserved to be remembered. 

The triangular statue would still be there, right? The perfect place for a ceremony of this kind. 

Dipper packed a backpack with some snacks and the crumpled, slightly burnt drawings of Bill. He put on his relatively new jacket, a scarf that he wrapped around his neck several times and a fluffy hat that covered his ears. He headed outside, only feeling the cold on his face and fingertips which he promptly hid in his coat. 

All he needed to get were flowers and luckily there was a new florist at the edge of town, not too far from here. He walked on the frozen mud out to the main street, following it until he arrived at the small shop. 

The door was heavy and a bright bell rang upon his arrival, he didn't see anyone else in the shop but the room to the back was open, albeit hidden behind foliage of various plants. His gaze wandered around, everything was bright and green, dots of colors interrupting it. His eyes locked onto yellow flowers with big petals, Bill would favor these for sure. 

"I'm sorry, I had to manage something back there. Is there anything specific you need?" 

Dipper turned around, facing a blonde girl with bright blue eyes who was a bit taller than him. "It's fine- Um, I was looking to get a bouquet, but I'd like to put it together myself."

The girl smiled at that. "Oh? Who's the lucky guy or girl?" 

There was a pang in his chest and bit his lip, his gaze fell to the ground. "He's… It's complicated." He wished Bill would be there to accept the bouquet but that wasn't possible. Not in this reality. Not for him.

She hummed at that, her smile dropped the tiniest bit. "Well, whatever it may be, I hope it works out for you." After a pause, she started again. "Pick out the flowers you want, I'll help you with the rest."

He nodded and attempted a smile, he wasn't sure if it was visible or not. He grabbed one of the big yellow flowers and then took another look around. Cerulean flowers, more gentle than the yellow ones, were his next pick, obviously reminding him of Bill's fire, vividly crawling up his arm in his mind. The last flowers he picked were very small petaled flowers in a rich blue tone. 

Dipper returned to the counter with his flowers. The girl had laid out several wrapping paper and ribbons. 

"Make your pick." 

"I'd like the golden ones, please." 

"Alright then." She took the flowers out of Dipper's hands carefully, cut off the stems that were too long and arranged them a little, tying them together with a bow. 

Dipper let out a chuckle, it was like the one Bill wore with his suit, how fitting.

"Too cheesy?"

"No not at all! It's just, he always wore a golden bow tie." 

"A fancy kinda guy, huh? Be careful, the rich ones are tricky." She smiled sheepishly before wrapping up the flowers and handing them to him. 

"Fancy for sure, don't know if he's rich or not but he certainly has the attitude." He fumbled with his backpack, looking for his wallet. 

"You know what? Keep the money, it's on the house."

"No, you don't have to-" He fished the wallet out. "I can pay." 

"Seriously, it's fine. I hope he likes it." The girl put the wrapping paper and ribbons into the shelf behind her.

"I hope that too." He paused, he should probably thank her but he didn't get her name. "Well uhm… thanks-"

"Pacifica. "

_ Huh, _ this was the Northwest girl. "Thanks, Pacifica." 

She wove at him when he left and honestly, he was happy he had made that stop. She seemed nice, maybe he could come by sometime and have a chat. New friends sounded good.

Dipper walked back to the shack to warm up before going to the statue. The clouds above got darker and darker, maybe it would snow today. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him and exhaling at the warmth that surrounded him. He took off his jacket, the scarf and hat, trotting into the kitchen to make some tea. 

He watched the water boil, poured it into a thermos can and put a bag of tea into it, screwing the lid shut. For about ten minutes he just sat in the kitchen and relaxed, slowly warming up again. Dipper took out the tea bag and put the bottle into his backpack, a glance outside revealing that it had indeed started to snow. It was gonna be a cold walk but it didn't matter, he would endure worse for Bill. He had sacrificed himself for Dipper, a little snow wouldn't stop him.

Dipper slid back into his clothes, picked up the flowers and stepped out again. Just as he was about to step off the porch, he noticed a spot of color on the edge of his vision.

The flower he had healed. It was still there, against all odds. It seemed unbothered by the frost and snow, as if it had been waiting for this.

He walked towards it, kneeling down in front of it to take a closer look. Maybe he should pick it and add it to the bouquet. Dipper grabbed its stem but just as he was about to pluck it, a thought crossed his mind. If it had survived all this time, why should he pick it now? Bill wouldn't even see the bouquet, there was really no point. It also brought back the good memories he had with him, training how to heal, their almost kiss against the tree being interrupted. 

Dipper sighed, letting go of the flower and standing up. He would leave it there, see how long it lasted. He turned around and headed into the forest.

It didn't take long for his feet to crunch on a thin layer of snow, everything became white as more and more of the frozen water fell down. He huffed, his breath visible as he started to get cold. His feet weren't exactly well protected in his autumn shoes.

He still had a ways to go, maybe he could warm up a little if he walked faster. So he sped up, the crunch of his footsteps becoming louder and more frequent. At least he wasn't carrying a lot, that would've been an issue. The thermo can was already heavy enough on its own. 

After quite a while, he arrived at an area that felt familiar but he couldn't quite place why. As he kept going, he noticed burn marks in the trees. This was where they had fought, huh? It looked very sad, black marks and ash everywhere. He didn't get a closer look since he passed out and Ford had brought him home directly afterwards, but he was barely able to recognize the place. Then again, it was also snowy.

He sat down on a rock, glancing around. What would've happened if Bill hadn't sacrificed himself? He didn't know and he was sure he didn't want to know either. He unscrewed the bottle of tea and took a sip, it warmed his insides. Maybe if their plan had succeeded, he would be sitting next to him right now. Maybe he would even be leaning against him. Maybe their plan was just bound to fail. Doesn't matter.

Dipper pushed himself off of the stone after he put the bottle back, walking over the battlefield, past it. The statue wasn't all that far away.

It took another while for Dipper to recognize his surroundings, he had been here when he touched the statue in an attempt to free Bill. Now, it seemed foolish to him. Obviously you wouldn't touch a statue if you're in pain by only being near it. 

_ The pain _ . There was no pain. He couldn't feel any, except the one coming from his heart. It made sense, though. It must've faded along with Bill's power. 

A few more steps and he saw the clearing, trees blocked his view of the statue. He hung his backpack onto the twig of a tree so it wouldn't get wet from all the snow on the ground. Dipper gently unwrapped the bouquet, humming quietly. 

He walked towards clearing.

Wait, what?

Dipper scoffed. There was no statue. "Of course, not even a damn statue can stay with me, huh? Am I that repulsive?" He chuckled to himself before biting his lip and frowning. 

He stepped into the clearing. Something laid on the ground where the statue was supposed to be at. 

No, not something. Some  _ one _ . 

He wore a suit with a golden bowtie.

Dipper gasped, the bouquet left his grasp and landed in the snow with a soft thump. Faster than a deer, he was next to him, on his knees. 

" _ Bill-" _ Dipper choked on his tears as he embraced him, cradling him in his arms and stroking through his hair. He couldn't believe it. This couldn't be real. It must've been a dream. He was alive.  _ He was alive. _

A soft, warm breath hit his cheek and Dipper loosened his grasp, watching Bill's face tensely.

His eyes opened slowly, blinking. "Hah- Pine Tree- Dipper"

The boy let out several, very wet sobs and sniffled. "Y-yeah." Happiness couldn't even describe what he felt at that moment. His chest bloomed with light and he thought he would be able to fly, unstoppable.

Bill coughed, hand reaching up to cup Dipper's teary cheek. Such a beautiful sight. "Am I- Am I boyfriend material now?"

Dipper laughed, wholeheartedly laughed. "Yes, you are you stupid douchebag!" He couldn't help himself but to press his lips against Bill's. He was going to explode from all the butterflies trying to get out. This was right. Oh, it was so awfully right. He lifted his head, marveling at Bill’s physical body. "You always were." 

Bill smiled, pulling him back in for another kiss.


	30. Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Impossible is the pessimistic way of saying improbable.

Dipper was warm. Warm and comfortable. The morning sun hit his eyelids and he whined, turned away to nuzzle his head into the blanket. 

Wait. That wasn't what blankets felt like. It radiated heat and felt more like… skin? He opened his eyes to the space between Bill's shoulder and neck, feeling heat rise to his face. Right. He wasn't used to somebody else being in his bed.

The demon's brows scrunched together before he blinked his eyes open and let out a lion-like yawn that displayed his threatening teeth. Well, at least what was left of them, not all of his teeth were sharp as a blade anymore. "Morning, Sleepy Tree." He grinned tiredly, pulling Dipper closer and resting his chin above Dipper's head.

Said Sleepy Tree let out a shaky, flustered sigh, hiding his face between the blanket and Bill's chest. "Don't be like thiiis," he whined, trying to free himself from Bill's embrace.

But the demon wouldn't even budge, a smug grin sitting on his face. "Like what?"

"It's already way too late, we should get up and you're tempting me to just go back to sleep." Dipper jabbed at the demon's chest with his index finger three times. 

"Late is relative." He cuddled Dipper, burying his face in his hair. It smelled like cinnamon, how fitting. 

Dipper groaned. "You're an absolute ass…" 

"True."

This guy would be the end of him… He decided to give into Bill.  _ For now. _ He stopped struggling and slowed his breath consciously. After a while, Bill seemed to drift off. At least that's what his arms relaxing told Dipper. As swift as a bird, he slid out of the python's grasp, leaping out of bed. Bill’s pout made him grin in triumph.

"The bed's getting coooold," he whined while burying himself deeper under the blanket.

"You're such a diva…" Dipper picked up some fresh clothes with the intention of taking a nice shower, not just to wake him up but so he could look like a decent, normal human being. This wasn’t just  _ any  _ day either. It was late December, Christmas Eve.

He walked into the hallway. "You should get up too or do you want to look like a drug addict the first time my parents meet you?" 

"Drug addict's fine to be honest."

Why was Dipper not surprised? Right, it was Bill he was talking to. But against his expectations, the demon got up and headed to the door. "Where are you going?"

"Taking a shower with you."

"Wha- No! Nononono!  _ No. _ " 

Bill only grinned at him.

"...What? Is there something on my face?"

"You make a cute tomato," Bill stated before giving Dipper a quick kiss and swaying back into his room. He chuckled when he turned around to see his confused and very red face. The boy was so easily flustered, it was too much fun, honestly.

"Ass." He smiled a little before vanishing in the bathroom.

"Your's truly." 

Ford had made pancakes for breakfast but left, presumably for a morning walk. The old man had taken a liking to the demon fairly fast after they had a long chat with Dipper on the day of his reappearance. Bill explained his talk with the 'Big Frilly' as Bill worded it. It had been quite the surprise when Bill told them he gave up his demonic powers to live with Dipper as a human. The choice hadn’t been a light one but after all that had happened, Bill found it to be easier than expected.

Ford had agreed to let Bill stay at the shack, they had enough room anyways, in exchange for magic training and knowledge. Both Bill and Dipper laughed. Classic Ford.

He had also offered Bill a job at the college he worked at since the demon knew more about most sciences than any human did. The ex demon got in easily and he actually enjoyed it a lot. Dipper on the other hand had started to take up freelance work in both art and writing, not making that much money off of it yet but he was confident.

Bill could use magic like any normal human would, better even with millennia of experience on his back. It wasn’t the same though. Bill would be lying if he said he didn’t miss his enormous power supply but knowing he couldn’t cause the apocalypse for his own selfish reasons felt… freeing. Ironically.

Dipper and Bill ate breakfast together, though the demon was already done after what felt like seconds because his way of eating resembled that of a carnivorous dinosaur more than that of a human. Dipper thought it to be kinda cute though. Pacifica had showed up, insistent on leaving them two bouquets which now stood proudly in the kitchen and living room.

After Ford came back, they decorated the house together. Well, Ford and Dipper actually decorated while Bill looked for decorations that would suit him. He found deer teeth in some forgotten drawer and hid them everywhere. 

Christmas was about finding deer teeth, right? Santa had deer so it made sense to him anyways.

Bill and Dipper sat on the couch, watching a random show when the doorbell rang. 

"Dipper, you should get it!" Shouted Ford from the kitchen, currently preparing food.

"On it!" He hopped off of the couch, drawing a pout from Bill. "You should come with me." He held out a hand to the demon, smiling.

He sighed, accepting the hand and getting up. "Are you sure they'll like me?" 

The boy nodded at that. "They will. Now let's open the door before they decide to leave." He gave Bill a peck on the cheek and headed to the entrance, turning the key and opening the door, instantly being bombarded by hugs and barks. 

"Dipper! Merry Christmas!" 

"Merry Christmas to you too!"

The little corgi ran around Bill and Dipper excitedly, wagging her tail before running off into the kitchen to assault Ford.

When Dipper's parents let go of him they finally noticed the man behind Dipper. His mom reached out to hug him as well. "And who are you, young man?"

Bill awkwardly accepted the hug, scoffing but his grin never faltering. "I'm older than I look."

Dipper closed the door before coughing to clear his throat. "Um… Mom, Dad, this is Bill. My uh… my boyfriend."

His mom's face instantly lit up in delight. "Oh! Dipper I'm so happy for you! When did you meet?" 

"In February, he instantly fell for me to be honest." Bill wrapped an arm around Dipper, squeezing him.

"Not true!" The boy chuckled. "You were an ass and you're still an ass!" 

"Excuse you, I'm not just any ass, I'm  _ the best  _ ass!"

His dad smiled, a bit more quiet. "Well, I'm glad things are going well for you two."

" _ Oh,  _ it was quite the ride, trust me!" Bill grinned.

After some chit chat, Ford also greeted Dipper's parents and started cooking together with his mom. Bill and Dipper settled back onto the couch and Dipper's dad took over the armchair, the corgi joined them after a while, sitting down next to Dipper. The atmosphere was kind of awkward but Dipper couldn't fault his dad, both of them weren't too great at starting conversations. "So, why did you two get a dog?"

"Well, you know how your mom is sometimes. A friend of hers was giving away her dog's babies and when she saw her she just couldn't say no." He smiled, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I get it, she is a sweetheart." Dipper petted her. Corgis were too pure for the world to be honest. "I don't think you ever told me her name?"

"She reminded me of your sister so I suggested we call her Maple but your mom thought that to be too similar and we ended up calling her Syrup."

Dipper had proceeded to give Syrup a good belly rub and she was absolutely into it. "Naw, a sweet name for a sweet lady, huh?" He looked over at Bill who had been way too quiet for too long and he found him to be… pouting? This was too great. "What, are you jealous?"

"Hm? No, why would I be jealous of a dog?" Bill crossed his arms, looking into another direction.

Dipper decided he felt sassy today. "Maybe because she's cuter than you are." 

Bill scoffed. "Oh please, have you ever seen  _ this. _ " He continued to gesture at himself. "I am a  _ perfect _ specimen! For a human, anyway." He added the last part under his breath, just enough for Dipper to hear.

"Yeah, yeah. You can't be cuter than a dog though."

His dad pulled up a brow, glancing between the two of them and then heading for the kitchen, slightly amused. 

Syrup got up as well but instead of following her owner she hopped onto Dipper's lap, reaching for Bill who promptly stood up, squinting at her. "You're not getting my belly rubs, evil chicken." She barked, jumping up and down happily. "Very stupid evil chicken." The demon hissed at Syrup who barked, living her best life.

Dipper laughed, did Bill seriously just hiss? "Come on, she's not evil. Look at her! She's just a cute dog, give her some love." 

"Well, I'm more of a cat person."

"You  _ are _ basically a cat."

Over the course of the evening, Bill started to get along with Syrup more and more. Saying he was getting along with his parents would be a lie since they absolutely adored him. His mom loved his dark sense of humor in specific, even asking Bill to use some of his jokes for her writing. 

At one point after dinner she found one of the deer teeth between the couch cushions. "What's this doing here?"

Dipper shot a flat look at Bill.

"I thought I should help decorating, turns out deer teeth aren't accepted as very Christmassy here."

She chuckled, putting the tooth next to herself. "Dipper, I have to say your significant other is delightful." 

"More like my significant bother." The boy smiled, squeezing Bill's hand. 

Bill gasped, grinning whilst he poked at Dipper's side. "You couldn't even live without me!" 

"Hey!" He slapped at Bill's hand, chuckling.

They sat in the living room for the rest of the night, chatting, telling stories, having fun. As time went by, Ford headed to bed, Syrup fell asleep next to Bill and a while after that Dipper's parents also decided to go to sleep so him and Bill were left all alone.

"Are you tired as well, Pine Tree?"

"A little bit. We can go upstairs if you want to." Dipper yawned. Maybe he was a bit more tired than a little.

"Sure thing."

Both of them stood up, walking up the creaky stairs as quietly as possible, not to rouse the others. Bill plopped down on his bed but Dipper stopped to look through his window. The sky was crystal clear and the moon and stars above illuminated the white landscape. "Would you mind going outside for a bit?"

"Wanna look at the stars?"

"Yeah."

Dipper grabbed a warm pullover and a scarf from his closet, handing Bill a scarf as well. He picked up his blanket at which Bill gave him a questioning look and they left his room. He went into the other room in the attic that led to the little balcony-esque area outside. 

The air was cold but clear and fresh, it felt good to breathe it in. He sat down, opening his blanket so Bill could get under it as well, the extra warmth and the arm around him were very cozy. He leaned against Bill, looking up at the sparkling sky. "It's so beautiful… Even though I know it's there every night I somehow feel special to be able to look at it…"

Bill hummed, nodding. "I get that, I've seen it for millions of years and it somehow just never gets old. You know who I think is more beautiful though?" He added, teasingly.

Dipper snorted, cuddling against Bill. "Who?"

"Me."

The boy gawked at Bill, mouth opening to scold him.

"Joking, it's you," the demon said tenderly before he kissed his head, grinning.

"And you're really, really cheesy  _ and  _ a douchebag." Dipper smiled, pulling the blanket tighter around himself to stay warm. "But I appreciate it."

They sat in silence for a while, looking at the night sky and the frosted trees. 

"I have something for you, Pine Tree."

Dipper was a bit startled when Bill spoke up, he was already falling asleep. "Huh? I thought we agreed to no Christmas gifts?"

"Sorry, I couldn't stop myself and it also wasn't that hard to make so..." Bill rummaged under the blanket. "Ah, there it is!" He revealed a simple necklace, the gem glowing as soon as it touched the moonlight.

"Woah- It's amazing." He held out his hand and Bill gave it to him. Dipper touched the stone's surface. "Is that an inscription? What does it say?"

"It's to protect you from any evil spirit, might come in handy. I also put a triangle on the back side." 

"Thank you. Now I feel bad for not having a gift though. Put it on me?" 

"Eh, it's fine. I'm happy that you like it." Bill gently put the necklace around Dipper, hand cupping at his face. 

Dipper placed his hand onto Bill's, smiling. "Bill?"

"Yes?"

"I would like to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wvv admq kel. Loag dprmv owxhphg, xhyqfn wvv vrmjjkuauc mnlngloevy adil zpwgk ev loaqj dwg lvcmloaz mupqd lrmfaqidsu, bzlez dprmk ljlwk wvv ikbz yabmyjmv ak bzl obsyo, bg mevv lwkzvppwy wospj qf hjwloaz muedwyom.
> 
> And that's it. Bye bye AnbtA, hello mafia AU. Sort of. It's not your regular mafia AU tbh but you'll see if I actually manage to finish it. Writing 80k in a month is a really stupid idea. Can't recommend unless you're an absolute himbo like me smh. I do already have 30k words though.
> 
> Consider following me on Twitter or Instagram @TerroiArt, I do a ton of art of my and other people's Bills. 
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/terroiart/  
> https://www.twitter.com/terroiart/  
> (I also have DeviantArt and Tumblr but I never use them F in chat)
> 
> Thank you for your kudos, comments and for reading of course!


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